Minato | Open | 088

[messianic]

a

[Look, he's a Persona protag. So maybe you're having some difficulty with something--anything from looking for something to dropping things to carrying groceries and who knows what else--and after a moment of observing, he has to come over, hands tucked into his pocket and voice quiet, to ask:]

Is there anything I can help with?

[Protags gotta protag, after all; he just wants to be useful, okay!!!]

b

[Alternatively, he also seems to always find himself in these situations and can't seem to say no.... which is a life skill that would probably benefit him to learn but one he will never quite manage. HE...TRIED....

Probably.

But it's almost Easter and that's why he was dragged into helping with an easter egg hunt, wearing a stupid-ass costume complete with bunny ears and looking very puzzled about it (if you can tell beneath the lineface).

He's also, more importantly, kind of struggling to juggle all of the eggs he's supposed to be painting while more are dumped onto him by other overworked volunteers, and with paint on his face and hands and a paintbrush in his mouth as backup while he tries to paint colorful designs on one of the many eggs in his hands, he...

... Probably has bitten off more than he can chew.

Help.]

c

[if you want to see him shoot himself in the head make up a battle prompt or just tell me and i'll come up with one, it'll be Fun.]

wildcard

[Come up with your own prompt or consider one of these OR WHATEVER MAKES YOU HAPPY.]

Comments

[messianic]

[There, there, Futaba, he's getting there.... not all Persona protags can move at Joker's pace.

He's a bit of a more methodical one.]

It's a hidden hour of the day that happens at midnight.

[Simply...ish... as simple as that gets, anyway.]

Only Persona-users can really experience it. Everyone else is...well, frozen in place, sort of.

[necromomicon]

... A hidden hour at midnight?

[She just looks at him skeptically.]

I'm a Persona-user, and I've pulled enough all-nighters that I can tell you I've never heard of that.

[messianic]

... It's really strange...

Kurusu-san said he wasn't familiar with it either, but you both should be able to experience it...

[??? Minato doesn't get it.]

That's when my team and I fight, though.

[necromomicon]

Mom's research didn't mention anything like that either... But maybe it's something similar? An hour formed out of cognition, warped time instead of space... Or something. If that's the case, if we experience once and change our cognition, we should be able to enter it again afterwards.

[that makes sense, right. surely you know what she's talking about.]

... Wait, I might be missing a more obvious solution. What kind of Persona do you have?

[messianic]

[He's perfectly content to let her puzzle that out for herself, because hell if he knows. She's smart, it seems, like Fuuka...maybe that's just part of why they have the roles they do?

A casual blink.]

Oh.

[Personas, yeah.]

My first Persona was Orpheus.

["first".]

[necromomicon]

First? Did yours evolve too?

[She tilts her head, thinking.]

[messianic]

Mm? Oh, no.

[Sort of??? What the fuck is Thanatos, we just don't know.

Her Persona evolved, though... Futaba must have reached some sort of understanding in herself to make that happen, right? He thinks it's admirable, though it's probably not his place to ask.]

Sorry, I should've been clearer. My ability's more like Kurusu-san's.

[necromomicon]

More like-

You can use multiple Personae?!

[SHE'S A LITTLE ALARMED NOW.]

[messianic]

[DON'T HAVE A HEART ATTACK, FUTABA

He's as calm as ever, at least, though.]

Yes, that's right.

[It's a weird leader thing.]

It seems like we share that ability.

[Somehow. Even though Igor said he only had one guest at a time............ but Minato's not going to worry about that right now.]

[necromomicon]

... I guess anything that can happen once can happen twice... Though I wonder why? I assumed it was such a super-special rare ability, we'd just never find anyone else with it because of statistics, but maybe it's a lot more common than I thought?

Can anyone else in your group do that?

[messianic]

No, it's only me.

[So statistically: still weird.

But occasionally happens more than once.]

I'm not really sure how common or uncommon it is... it was a big surprise to see Kurusu-san do the same, honestly.

[A big surprise for Minato is like "the slightest of widened eyes".]

[necromomicon]

Surprising enough for you to have an expression?

[... let her have her burns, okay]

[messianic]

[He just kind of rolls with it.]

Yes. [a placid nod] I'm a very expressive.

[EMOTIONAL ALL THE TIME

he says

with no expression]

[necromomicon]

... You never make expressions, you're really bland-looking except for a weird haircut, you're quiet all the time, and you have a super-special power that was supposed to be unique...

[she pokes out a little further behind from Akira to squint.]

Are you a fanfiction protagonist?

[messianic]

[.. ... .... "Bland-looking"?]

I think Kurusu-san is closer to being the fanfiction protagonist--isn't the dashing and dangerous Phantom Thief with a super-special power more like it?

[He's a mary sue.

That's what he's saying.]

[necromomicon]

No way. He's the main character, and the fanfiction protagonist is the one who rips off his special power!

[YOU'RE RUDE.]

[messianic]

[Ahhhh, he sees.]

Oh, I'm the knock-off version. I see.

[He's not...arguing it??? Thanks, Minato.]

In that case, you might be right.

[necromomicon]

I'm always right. That's one of my Persona's powers.

[messianic]

[He certainly doesn't believe that for a moment, but--]

I see. What a dangerous power.

Good thing you're using it for good.

[Like determining which protag is the knock-off of the other.]

[necromomicon]

Such is the power of the forbidden wisdom.

[She sounds smug.]

But... Anyway, Orpheus, you said? I guess that must be the Persona that best represents you?

[messianic]

[Hm...

> You wonder if maybe encouraging her in that was a bad idea... OH WELL, NOT YOUR PROBLEM]

That's right. He was my first Persona, so there's probably something to that.

[Him and DEATH but we don't talk about that one in polite company.]

[necromomicon]

Orpheus... In Greek mythology, a musician who traveled into the Underworld. Maybe that sort of legend is why you can travel into the strange hour no one else can?

[She folds her arms, thinking.]

No, then Prometheus should be able to do the same... Is there a kind of a theme to your party's Personae?

[messianic]

[Well, trust the analyst to analyze, he supposes.]

The original Personas [and not the upgraded ones] would be...

Io, Hermes, Polydeuces, Penthesilea, Palladion, Cerberus, Nemesis, Lucia...and Castor.

[He tilts his head, thoughtful.]

The "theme" doesn't seem as clear as with Kurusu-san's team.

[The theme is death and murder mostly.]

[necromomicon]

[trust the analyst to analyze, but also, she just doesn't like having a puzzle she hasn't solved.]

... Except for 'Lucia', those are all from Greek mythology. If that's the theme, then that might explain it... Except my Prometheus still can't. Maybe it's because my original Persona didn't fit that theme? But Necronomicon should be able to see those sorts of mysteries.

[... yeah, her initial persona was necronomicon. that's not alarming, right?]

[messianic]

[You know, when one of the personifications of death bursts out of your Persona upon your first summoning, alarming things become somewhat less alarming.

He notes it, and it gives him pause (necronomicon...that's A Lot, and yet somehow weirdly fitting, he feels...?) but he otherwise just nods.]

And it isn't that the Dark Hour is centralized to only Iwatodai... it's been confirmed to occur everywhere.

[At least, as far as the Kirijo group has analyzed, and that's Pretty Far. So there's something more to it.]

You should be able to experience it, even here.