013 | its a shift in times but I won't get tired at all

[mortal_son]

[ ACTION - FEARS ]
Who: Shinjiro + OTA
Where: Attleton, by the entrance archway
When: 10/16/2017
What: drive-by beating up fears!
Warnings: strong language, death, and whatever fears your character brings to the table.



[ After the random monster attacks in Genessia City, and the transformation of his friends, Shinjiro figured the judge in Attleton would want to move the sentencing hearing for his case until after this madness was all over.

No such luck. (Well, of course none, for him.)

He wasn't quite sure what was the deal with Attleton, but he was pretty sure he wasn't going to turn into a vampire or werewolf or something, and he thought he could handle any sort of monsters the place could throw at him. It couldn't be worse than that Midnight Channel subarchway, right?

At first, when he stepped into Attleton, he didn't notice anything wrong. But then - there were smashed-up cars. Then, there was blood spilled on the street. Then, the prone body of Akihiko. Shinjiro stopped dead, and turned, hearing a sinister, inhuman laugh. He stopped dead, eyes wide.

When Shinjiro turned, he saw his new Persona - but looking as crazed and wild as Castor did. Perhaps even more so. Aeneas' sword dripped with blood, and beneath his helm, the eyes glowed with a manic light. ]

Fuck this. [ Snarled, exasperated.

Evoker gleaming bright in the morning sunlight, Shinjiro lifted it to his head and pulled the trigger. The real Aeneas appeared, large and sane behind him, and dealt a Fatal End to the imposter. It vanished, and so did the body and blood, and the property damage.

He knew what it felt like to have your own soul go out of control.

And that wasn't it. Damn it, he was so tired of it all. Aloud, he said - ]

Adios, asshole.

[ - and walked to the courthouse. He wasn't sure what was going on in Attleton, still, but he really hoped everyone wasn't facing down their own nightmares, like did. ]




[ ACTION - WELCOME ]
Who: Shinjiro + Cassian Andor + anyone else in the office
Where: Attleton Guardian Office
When: 10/23/2017
What: have a free indentured servant guys
Warnings: possible language



[ Like his friend had a couple of weeks ago, but dressed much less stylishly, Shinjiro walked into the Attleton Guardian office, looking rather out of place.

He walked up to the front desk, and said, awkwardly, stilted: ]

Hey. My name is Shinjiro Aragaki. I've been assigned to this location for my community service sentence.

[ And then, an equally awkward pause. ]

Um. Guess I should be talkin with Guardian Andor?




[ ACTION - BREAKING HIM IN ]
Who: Shinjiro + Attleton deputies + anyone else in the office
Where: Attleton Guardian Office
When: 10/27/2017-11/03/2017
What: conversations, paperwork, hazing, paperwork, pranks, paperwork, how to deal with your giant enchanted frog, paperwork
Warnings: possible language, possible Dante, possible frogs?


[ Looks like someone's putting Shinjiro's middle-school-level legible handwriting to good use.

He's been stuck at a spare table in the corner of the large center office, sitting in a rickety folding chair. In front of him, stacked very very high, is a lot of paperwork.

It's not hard, just fill in the blank. A monkey could do it.

Or a delinquent high-school dropout, in this case.

Come bother him? ]

Comments

ACTION - WELCOME

[captain_by_the_book]

[ Cassian makes it back from patrol just in time to hear Shinjiro talk of needing to...

Wait.

He stops, coat half on, half off, and his already stressed face sours further. ]

What do you mean assigned here?!

[ This is the first he hears of it and damn, couldn't have happened at a better time. ]

[mortal_son]

[ Turns to look at Cassian, and frowns, shoving his hands in his pockets. It's less awkward than he'd thought, meeting the guy again in person after the weird dream.

He looks at him, knowing that neither of them really want Shinjiro to be there right now. It can't be helped. It was just how it was. ]

I mean. Judge said, somethin 'bout - "You caused that mess for Attleton's Guardian, so you can help him clean it up."

[ Shrugs ] So, do what y'want with me, I guess.

[captain_by_the_book]

For one thing, you could stay out of the way.

[ Aaaand he freezes.

Remembers his conversation with Demyx about listening to people and his talk with Shinjiro after he came out of the subarchway. He'd been pleasant company ever since, and honestly regretful on that day. His wings droop. ]

Sorry.

[ Cassian exhales loudly. ]

It's not easy right now. We're short-staffed, some of ours are helping in Genessia City alot or had to leave Attleton until the manifestation of fears has passed. Work is harder than normal, considering we're attacked by our fears every time we leave the station, but we also have to keep a constant presence on the streets. But...

[ He looks around at the paperwork that has been piling up. ]

I'll find something for you. There's enough work.

[mortal_son]

[ Shinjiro scowled at Cassian's immediate reaction. Yeah, he had that coming, but it's not like he wanted to be there or anything -

- and then Cassian apologized. His expression softened, looking a bit regretful himself. ]

Yeah. Ran into mine, too. Seemed to go down pretty easy, but.

[ ... but talking more about it would entail what his fear was, and he didn't feel like telling Cassian Andor that a crazed version of his Persona - even a fake version of it - was in his town.

Kinda a bad idea, he figured, based on why he was there in the first place.

Sighs. ]

Whatever y'need me to do. I've been fightin the shit in Genessia City at night, but you probably don't want a ... vigilante or whatever runnin round your town.

[ Looks around ]

Even if it's just helpin clean this place up, I can least do that much.

[captain_by_the_book]

Yes, you're here for community service, not to be hired as another Deputy.

[ Although with several out of town, he wouldn't be picky if he had the choice, but letting people serve their time by playing law enforcement... Well, that would get him in hot water, if the judge hears of it. ]

You can...

[ He looks around. Rubs his temples. Empty fast food cartons are laying around, cereal bar wrappers, dirty coffee mugs. Nobody's been in the mindset to clean up when just keep going has been taken all they have. ]

You can start by cleaning up. Yes. Stardust, Mobius's AI, would be best to get you situated with the computers, but they won't be back till the town goes back to normal. You'll have to make do with me.

[mortal_son]

[ Shinjiro nodded. He didn't think anyone would hire him as a Deputy - even without what happened in the subarchway. Wasn't sure he'd want the job, either. Fighting alongside Akihiko was one thing. Doing odd jobs now, bounties and stuff, with his Persona under control, that was also something different. Being part of law enforcement?

Well, he wasn't cut out for it. Did he look like a guy anyone would trust as a cop?

Taking his hands out of his pockets, Shinjiro nodded again at Cassian. Being their maid didn't really sound ... but he probably deserved far worse after what had happened. All things considered, Shinjiro thought he'd gotten off lightly. He wouldn't complain. ]

Right.

[ He bent down to pick up a wastepaper basket - it was pretty empty, relative to the clutter on the desks - and began to clear out takeout containers.

Not looking at Cassian, but still loud enough for the Guardian to hear - ]

... Thanks.

[captain_by_the_book]

[ It's not going to be fun, this is still a punishment. But hey, with Cassian busy and distressed he won't be in the mood to make his life harder, either. All he wants to do these days is get through the day without breaking down and go home to hide in Kay's arms.

Cassian does pick up the "thanks" and his wings rustle loudly. He steps closer towards him, wings flaring and tail straight up. ]

If you're displeased with your assignment, do share.

Action - Fears

[melodiouspacifist]

[Demyx hadn't been far from the archway for his own reasons, but when Shinjiro went by, he went after him, just in case something really bad happened and he needed help.

It's automatic, he moves before even thinking about it, but Shinjiro has everything well in hand.

He grins.]

Hey! [He always knew Shinjiro was tough.]

[There's a moment and then he startles as a little ghost dog appears floating up out of the ground, to bark at him playfully.]

Aaahh!

Re: Action - Fears

[mortal_son]

Hey.

[ Shinjiro turned, feeling a bit ... well. Embarrassed wasn't the right word. Regretful, maybe? That what he'd feared - even if he got rid of it easily - had been visible to anybody.

But then, Demyx was attacked by Zero, and Shinjiro walked up to them, looking rather confused.

The ghost dog was rather ... cute. ]

... What is that?

[melodiouspacifist]

It ghost barked at me again!

[Nope, he's still not used to it, it's still a dead puppy and he steps back. It goes through his legs.

Through his legs!]

Nnnnothing! It's a ghost!

[mortal_son]

[ .... Shinjiro just faced down his worst nightmare, plus the body of his best friend (which yes, part of the worst nightmare thing, kind of redundant) ...

... and here Demyx was, terrified of an adorable ghost dog.

Flatly: ]

It's a puppy.

[melodiouspacifist]

A ghost puppy!

[Look okay, fear is irrational.]

[mortal_son]

[ Shinjiro walks over, trying to put himself between Demyx and the apparition. Probably won't work, but he is trying to make him feel a little better.

... While giving him a little shit about this, of course. ]

A cute ghost puppy.

[ ... Can he manage to pet Zero? No? His hand goes right through. Damn. ]

Action - Fears

[gamerrep]

[Chiaki knew that the last time she never really confronted what she feared most, Junko and had decided in order to move forward and get past everything that had built up until now she need to confront that.

As she took a small breath she was wondering when her fear would manifest. But before she could come across it she instead found someone else. It didn't take them long to seemingly confront whatever fear they had.]

How did you do that?

[mortal_son]

...

[ Shinjiro turned to look at ... had he met her before? He didn't think so. He frowned a little, regretting for a moment that his worst fear had been publicly displayed like that.

... Perhaps he should make certain his damned phone hadn't turned on to broadcast a video of the whole thing. Seemed like that happened a lot here.

But, it was a pretty good question all the same. He shrugged. ]

... Summon a Persona, y'mean?

[ He lifted the Evoker out of his pocket, pointing it toward the ground. It wasn't a real gun, of course, but treating it like it was real safety-wise made people slightly less nervous. ]

I use my Evoker. ... It works 'cause I already have the Potential for it.

[ In case she asked to use it. He's not certain what would happen if someone tried to use an Evoker without having Potential, but he didn't really want to experiment with it, either. ]

[gamerrep]

[She shook her head for a moment. That wasn't what she was on about, however, she thought that was also interesting, so she kept that in her mind for the moment.]</small. That isn't what I was on about. It was more how you managed to face your face like it was nothing.

[mortal_son]

[ Blinks. ] Oh.

[ Aaand that's what bugged him the most about getting seen like this, when you came down to it. The whole thing with Personas - there was no Kirijo Group here to care about secrecy. In his view, keeping this kind of thing quiet would just end up hurting people.

But he didn't really want to give out his entire life story to a stranger. He's quiet for a few moments, before saying, as he looks off to the side - ]

I knew it wasn't real, 'cause it didn't feel real.

That kinda thing ... it ends up happenin, I'll know about it.

[gamerrep]

Didn't feel real...

[Her fear felt real. Sure, it didn't feel exactly like experiencing what she felt back then, to that time, that moment where everything changed. As she let the words sink in a little more, the more she started to think about it.]

That is an interesting way to think about it, but... how can one tell it's not real even if one's mind is saying so, but the body isn't?

[mortal_son]

[ ... So. Other people were seeing their fears too.

That was clear, based on her thoughtful expression, and her questions. Shinjiro scowled a little. He supposed his ... insight into his fear might be a bit ... unusual. Might even seem like it was unfair. He sighed. ]

Well. Probably. If ... well. I probably would've been fooled.

But, that thing was clearly ... my Persona ... and since I know -

[ ... He really really doesn't want to explain too much, in front of a stranger. ]

- I mean. You just saw me use the real one. So. Figurin' out that that thing was fake, it ain't rocket science.

[ ACTION - BREAKING HIM IN ]

[k2so]

[If Shinjiro took a break from the paperwork, he might have noticed that the coffee machine has been malfunctioning at random intervals.

He might also have noticed that Kay has been looking for something all around the office: opening drawers, looking under tables and even checking the lamps. In the end, the droids gives up and comes over to him.]

Shinjiro Aragaki, have you seen Stardust? He went missing this morning.

[mortal_son]

[ He'd seen enough police dramas, movies, anime, etc - to just assume a malfunctioning coffee maker was part of the job. ]



Uh. That's ... Mobius' ... computer thing, right?

[ That's what he understood from Cassian, anyway. ]

You need a hand lookin for 'im?

[k2so]

[Yeah...no. Cassian and Kay are both too careful to keep malfunctioning equipment. If it isn't fixed it's because they haven't noticed.]

Mobius? Oh right... yes but no. His computer is also called that but I'm talking about my joltik. [Kay holds up a hand, thumb and index finger close but not quite touching.] He is this size. Yellow. Has a bit of a temper.

Yes, if you don't mind.

[mortal_son]

[ Shinjiro's too new to know that. He just assumes it's something that normally happens. ]

Oh. Uh. Sure.

[ Scratches the back of his head as he stands, wondering how on earth he can begin looking for something that small. ]

But. What the hell is a joltik?

[k2so]

[SHinjiro, they're lucky you are an intern and not a detective.

And don't worry, the joltik isn't so small, it just looks like it next to Kay.]

It's an electric pokemon. He likes to feed on electricity when berries aren't available. I checked the sockets, the lamps and other electric devices but I had no luck finding him.

[mortal_son]

... We're lookin for a pokemon.

[ ... Well. Whatever. Weirder things had happened in Genessia. Just look at this past week!

He frowned, and, following Kay's advice, began examining the electrical outlets along the walls. ]

All the other electric devices?

What if we try to draw it out?