Sen

Falling Skies: 7th Mobile Armor Suit Team

I feel like I should probably post in here again.

So, initially I wasn't doing anything because I was waiting for Jedly. Which was, um, a month ago, I think, so that's no longer the case. I'm really sorry about my absence (and lack of communication), but basically it's a combination of studies/school/etc. kicking back into gear (seeing as I joined in the dead of summer where I had a lot more free time) and me trying to actually work on my personal projects. Of course, I could still spare the time to sit down and write a post for this, but I don't really feel like I'm contributing work the quality I feel I can actually give. In other words, I don't feel good about posting anymore because both my inspiration and interest has waned pretty hard now that I'm throwing my fuel into other fires, and it feels more like (for lack of better words) a chore now more than anything. _{Also 'cause I went ham on some of the Xeno titles and burnt myself out on the mech concept}

I have absolutely no idea where the other two newbies are, as I'm not in any kind of contact with them. I was hoping at least they'd still be here so I can feel less bad about it, but I don't think it'd be very wise to continue trying to force myself to write for this. I just don't feel like I gave what I should of, and I don't feel I can give that now or later. It's for that reason I'm going to have to drop out of this.

I'm super sorry about bailing like this, and for that extended period of no communication, but... yeah. It was good while it lasted, and I wish the best of luck to you guys.

Persona - The True Self

Sato Hashimoto // GAME-OVER Arcade

JULY 4TH 2015, SATURDAY
Afterschool
Admittedly, he probably should've looked it up beforehand. Sato had forgotten where the arcade actually was besides the general location, so it took a bit of wandering around to find it. Not that he particularly minded walking around longer than needed, as the weather was pretty nice out, but the fact that he was holding up Mako made it a problem. He didn't want to come off as a truant person, seeing as this was the first time they were meeting up without being face-to-face already.

Or, perhaps, Sato did know where the arcade was deep down, and was merely ignorant to his own hesitation. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Mako-- quite the opposite in fact, but that was the very thing that made him nervous. He didn't want to mess up what they had going, and so Sato's first instinct was to leave everything alone as if he could just stand back and enjoy what little there was to the relationship. But, of course, the nature of relationships is one of constant deterioration. If it's not being actively taken care of, a relationship will just fall apart on its own. Kind of like a road that goes through the seasons, fractured by the cold and torn apart by the heat.

Sato frowned. He was most definitely overthinking it, but that's nothing new. Inbetween school and worrying about the investigation, all Sato did was overthink it. Maybe it would be obvious to someone else, but Sato found it difficult to understand why he was so happy to see the text Mako had sent him. He wasn't usually so eager to respond when his other friends texted him. Was it that his other friends weren't actually his friends...? No, that probably wasn't it. Despite what his shadow had said, Sato made it a point to just be, well, friends with his friends. Friendship. The word friend started sounding weird in his head and that only made him more frustrated with himself. He just couldn't seem to keep his head on straight long enough to figure out the answer to his feelings towards Mako. Another thing he couldn't answer was why his lungs stopped when he saw Mako standing at the entrance to the arcade.

Sato walked up to the underclassman, having to remind himself to try to breath again. Hopefully the school dynamic didn't carry over into their relationship. "Hi, Mako." Sato lead with, giving a weak wave as he approached, but that was all he prepared to say. He couldn't help but wonder how his face looked. Probably nervous and confused, just like how he felt. "It's, um. Good to see you again."

Sato tried to convince himself that nobody wouldn't suspect a thing with that stellar performance. At least Mako didn't seem to be particularly confident himself, which was oddly comforting. Not comforting enough to carry the conversation though, so Sato paused to think of something else to add so he didn't start off with just a super generic greeting. He reflected back on what had been on his mind while walking to the arcade.

"You're hot out." He blurted out, before he could even consider his words. Shit, was all Sato could think. "W-wait, I mean the weather, the weather's hot! Not that you aren't hot, I mean--"

"I'm going inside!" Sato pushed past Mako and hurried through the door of the arcade, the dimness of it a pleasant change from the sun, except he still felt like he was burning up. Covering his face with his hand, Sato could feel his blush. Was this how he died? From embarrassment? In an attempt to try to move on from that fuck-up, Sato surveyed all the machines lining the arcade building. He'd been here before, but it still escaped him what most of these were. Probably wasn't the best idea to rush in without Mako, seeing as he had to wait for him anyway.

Persona - The True Self

"Well, if you have any suggestions for a weapon, let me know. I'm usually more used to using my fists, but I don't think that would work very well, if... my Shadow is any indication," He shrugged.

@EnterTheHero

Shuffle your music player and post the first 10 songs

1. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol (Eyes Open)
2. Forever Ever - Bastille ft. Kate Tempest & Jay Brown (Other People's Heartaches)
3. Stardust - New Politics (Vikings)
4. Skin & Bones - Marianas Trench (Fix Me)
5. Hundred - The Fray (How To Save A Life)
6. Histeria - Nano (Nanoir)
7. Something You Need - Against The Current (Infinity EP)
8. Lover Dearest - Marianas Trench (Masterpiece Theatre)
9. I Will - Matchbox Twenty (North)
10. Where Did The Party Go - Fall Out Boy (Save Rock and Roll)

Interesting to see how clearly my musical taste shows, lol.

Persona - The True Self

Sato Hashimoto // Noodle Shop

Their food arrived pretty quickly, though Sato didn't really take note until he had finished talking. Sliding his bowl a little closer, Sato took a mouthful of the noodles as Mako started talking. The first thing Sato thought of was that he'd much rather have Mako's noodles something as spicy as what Mako ordered. The fish dish he'd gotten was tragically bland, which was disappointing as the last thing he had at this place was pretty good. More importantly however, Mako confirmed that all that information, while clearly essential to the case, didn't really go anywhere yet.

Something Sato didn't really think about was psychology, but as Mako brought up, it was possibly relevant. It might've been confirmation bias, but the term 'persona' did seem vaguely familiar. They might've read something about it some time in school, but as far as Sato could remember, it was just something he didn't know.

"Now that you mention it, the dungeons and the shadows were eerily close. There's no way someone else would be able to find out about things like that, so it has to do with the victims themselves." Sato reiterated, propping up his chin with one hand as he continued eating the soba. It was almost... a good thing that they hadn't seen each other's shadows. It was a bit less awkward that way, but in a way, that left a bit of an awkward hole in the conversations. "I'll leave the research to you, as you seem to be a bit more knowledgeable on the subject. As the past proves, I'm not too great at this occult research stuff."

The third-year gave a small nod, a bit distracted by trying to get through his meal. It was a bit greasy too. Did they have a different cook this time? "Seeing as personas are indeed only usable in the mirror world, I'm going to say nobody's going to be creating tornadoes around down-town any time soon. But yeah, it's best to have some kind of weapon of your own, for both this side and that one. A persona can't protect you from everything." With all that said, Sato couldn't think of much more else they really needed to cover. There was still the matter of things like the weird velvet room, the key, the arcana, etcetera, but that was still beyond the comprehension of anyone on the team. Everything he could explain about the situation had been said.

Sato set down his pair of chopsticks, though he didn't look up from his food. "It was hardly rambling, at least in my opinion. Considering the danger of the mirror world, it's best you have as little confusion as possible. Though, nothing's gonna stop it from feeling like some weird nightmare at first. Or maybe that was just me... Either way. It'll feel bad at first, but we can't afford to slip up on a rescue, as it's only going to get harder from here on out. With the cult's activity on the rise, the team's only going to get more and more busy." The teen's eyes didn't falter from staring at the deep-fried shrimp littering the bowl of noodles. "Oh, and speaking of that, you'll get a call or text whenever the team needs to go into mirror world. You don't have to be there if you're doing something important, but every person we're down makes it a little more dangerous. Plus, not everyone is as dedicated as you or I might be anymore..."

"Funny how I started rambling as soon as I said you weren't." He gave a light laugh, amused by what he said. Even if the food wasn't particularly great, the outing was nice. Talking it all over with someone felt comforting, even if nothing was actually solved. It just made him feel a bit better knowing they were now equally confused. "Anyways, I never asked; how's your food? Mine's... not as great as I wanted."

Persona - The True Self

Sato Hashimoto // Noodle Shop

It was as they walked out of school grounds and to that obscure noodle shop that Sato reflected upon the quality of the hospital's food, Rokurou's asshole-ish tendencies, and, most of all, the words Mako had used to describe their relationship. On one hand, Sato wouldn't refer to what they were as 'friends' just yet considering how short a time they had known each other. For some reason, though, he didn't quite feel like he wanted to be 'friends.' Not that he didn't want to know Mako, but...

Anyways, soon enough the two highschoolers were seated at a table in a corner, the quiet shop empty besides the owners and a few other students that decided to do the same as Sato and Mako had. It was quaint enough, and luckily the other customers had the courtesy to space eachother out pretty well. After ordering-- Sato just getting soba-- it struck Sato how they were essentially repeating their last outing together. Discussing the cult activity over some food. It was, of course, different this time, now that they both had personas. The issue, of course, was getting Mako on the same page.

Sato tried his best to recap what they had tried to tell Mako back in the hospital, but it was a bit of a struggle. The fact of the matter was that it was hard to really understand unless you just went into the mirror world yourself, so Sato decided it best to focus more so on the real world part of the cult. While he knew they both had a pretty good knowledge of what was going on (the cult, obviously based in Warakuma, was kidnapping people and doing other such illegal activities, while recently they had been getting more aggressive with their actions), Sato realized that there were some finer bits of the story only the investigation team knew of.

"So," Sato started, the sounds of sizzling meals and dinner conversation in the background, "I'm not sure how much of this is common knowledge, but I'll fill you in on what we've learned about the cult, otherwise known as Junsei Sekai Tensei-- Perfect World Resurrection. I'll assume you know most of the 'normal' stuff for brevity, and just talk about the more obscure things.

"When we were rescuing one of the other members, we happened to corner a few of the cultists at the end of a dungeon. According to what one of them said, we think that the cultists believe the mirror world to be a 'new world' of some sort. While we confronted them, one of the men panicked and a shadow came out of him. It was suppressed rather easily thankfully, and it also didn't seem intentional. What that means, I don't know, but if the mirror world is their goal for the real world, then that's... concerning. Additionally, they made mention of some woman named 'Lady Asai'. We don't know much about her, but on the way they talked about her, it seems like she might be their leader. Any information regarding either their intentions or who the leader is would be essential to the case, but we haven't found much on either yet, outside of what I just told you.

"On a side note, after we saved you and others, an actual detective approached the team in warehouse, meaning he followed us there. Luckily he didn't do anything about us, and instead offered that we could call the police station if we ever needed to. I'm not sure about him, but I just told you that so you wouldn't be surprised if it ever came up." Sato let out a deep sigh. As far as he could remember, that summed up pretty much all of what they'd learned about the cult so far. It wasn't very conclusive, but they were good leads at least. "Now you're pretty much caught up. I still have a few questions, though. One: while a 'persona' is obviously some kind of representation of one's psyche, what is a shadow? I'd guess they were similar to personas, but what would they be then? The 'shadow' of who were are? Second, what are they really trying to accomplish? If the mirror world is the kind of paradise heaven thing they're trying to achieve, why don't they go in there themselves? Are they just being manipulated by this 'Lady Asai'? But that begs the question of what her intentions are..."

"But," Sato gave a slight smile as he leaned back into his chair. "I've been talking too much. Your turn."

Persona - The True Self

Sato Hashimoto // Warakuma High, Archery Range

"It doesn't matter," Sato said in response to Mako's ire. For whatever reason, Mako seemed to really dislike Rokurou, based on all the glaring and the villainizing statements. It struck him a bit odd, but then again, Rokurou had a knack for hitting things off wrong. A lot of people act the same as Mako upon first meeting, but then the other group of people tolerate him for his endearing side. It wasn't hard to guess which team Sato was on. "Rokurou's..." Sato hesitated to compliment him. "You'd need to get to know him first. I mean, general you, not actually you. You, Mako, seem to, uh..."

"Moving on." Sato changed the subject, putting his bow into an equipment locker. He'd left some equipment out, but someone was bound to use it anyway. Starting off towards the door, Sato continued. "It doesn't matter if I stay or not, it's just a hobby for me. Well, not technically anymore, but you get what I mean."

"Uh... But yeah, I'd be down for getting something downtown. I'd love to be talk to someone about everything that's been happening. I mean, outside of the warehouse with people I barely know." He frowned. It occurred to him that he barely knew Mako either, but their relationship had started off talking about it so it wasn't too weird to discuss it again. Especially now that Mako was part of the investigation team as well, and that the case is really picking up. Police involvement was on the rise, and the cult was getting more and more bold with their activities. In a way, it'd probably be a much better use of time than mindlessly shooting at some fake targets.

As Sato walked out the door to the range, the sun slowly creeping down towards the horizon, he considered where they could go. "There's a good noodle place just by the shopping district. It's pretty quiet there, so it'd be pretty good for talking. What do you think?"

Persona - The True Self

Sato Hashimoto // Warakuma High, Archery Range

JULY 1ST 2015, WEDNESDAY
Afterschool

After not having attended meetings for a while, being at the archery range was a breath of fresh air for Sato. Well, not literally, seeing as the whole place just kind of smelled like a mixture of sweat, leather, and resin. But it felt good to fire a bow outside of the mirror world for once, being able to just practice and hone his technique without worrying about fucking up and potentially getting hit with something a little more painful than a misfired string. Speaking of Sato's bow technique, he started to notice his improvements. It wasn't zero-to-hero or anything, but his shots were noticeably more consistent and accurate. It was kind of an ego boost to have a few other people around to see it, to be honest.

It was just as Sato completely messed up a shot, accidentally nailing the section of backboard just above the target, that Rokurou called him over, having just arrived, but not without a goofy smirk. He'd definitely had walked in on just that last shot, missing the rest of his relatively impressive score. Sato started to internally diss Rokurou's own shooting skills, but he quickly realized that they hadn't gone against each other for what felt like forever.

Rokurou set down the bag he carried, likely full of his own equipment. Seeing the tip of the bow arm poke out reminded Sato of how painfully awkward it was carrying his own stuff around to use for the mirror world, as it felt vaguely... illegal. It probably wasn't, but he didn't know for sure, and that was what bugged him. Especially considering he used Rokurou's modified arrows. Regardless, it was kind of a smart thing to do since equipment left in the locker was considered free to use by anyone, meaning most of it tends to get a little damaged by the less experienced members.

"You're here early," Rokurou said, walking over to a small cabinet where they kept most of the essential papers. A bit questionable, but apparently he kept copies of anything actually essential so Sato tried not to worry about any form of petty sabotage. The club president pulled out a folded up wad of papers from his back pocket and messed around with the contents of a binder, doing who knows what with the crumpled sheets. "It's more surprising you're here at all," He added on. Sato felt the second part wasn't necessary, but whatever.

"Yeah, well. I was busy, okay?" Sato replied, setting his bow against the side of a nearby equipment locker.

"Sure you were." Rokurou blew some air out of his nose, purposely obnoxiously loud. Just in case Sato didn't hear it normally. "I would ask, but that's not my business what you're fucking around with, so at least you're here now."

Sato slumped his shoulders a bit and rolled his eyes to side. "I mean, I was just... tired. I wanted to come, don't get me wrong, it's just that--"

"Dude. I said I don't care." He shut the binder for dramatic effect, shoving it haphazardly back into the pile inside the cabinet drawer. With whatever that was done, Rokurou threw his uniform jacket aside and pulled out his bow. He started to string it using the old-fashioned way, so Sato took a small step away. "I'm a bit more cheesed that you haven't talked to me at all in like three weeks. I even shot you a few texts, man! What's up with that?"

Sato had less explanation for that, unfortunately. He hadn't really talked to anyone since he had gotten kidnapped besides Mako and that one time he helped Rokurou study. It only then occurred to Sato that people might be a little... concerned, for him.

Luckily, before Sato ran out of time to think of a good answer, Rokurou changed the subject. "Hey, is that guy waving at us?" He pointed behind Sato and over to the door, and sure enough, Sato turned around to see Mako coming towards them. It was then that he suddenly remembered he had sent a text to Mako about meeting up there, so he played his surprise off real cool like, leaning onto the locker after his sudden pivot. Unfortunately, he forgot he left his bow there and promptly knocked it off, clamoring against the floor uncomfortably loudly.

Anyways. Sato gave a knowingly awkward smile, ignoring Rokurou's giggling behind him. "I see you got my text." He said, picking his bow up from the floor.

"Oh, you can text this guy but not me?" Rokurou butted in, bumping Sato in the shoulder. A few seconds of silence and disapproving looks proved effective in repelling Rokurou, however. "Oh, I see how it is! Well, whatever. I wanted to get some practice in anyway. You better talk to me later, asshole." And with that, Rokurou took a handful of arrows from his archery bag and moved over to the firing line, squaring himself off with the target as he walked up to it.

Sato rubbed the back of his hair. "Um, anyways... I'm glad to see that you're back at school. If you want to talk about the whole, um, 'thing', then I'm pretty much free. To talk."

Persona - The True Self

Also, working on the new big dungeon after Reaper's, I've managed to make it relevant.

@Sho Minazuki

That's good. Considering an irrelevant dungeon would be... irrelevant.

Persona - The True Self

[Shizu:] Is there a word that's a mix between angry and sad?

[Mako:] Malcontented, disgruntled, miserable, desolated.

[Sato:] ... Smad?