𝓵𝓪𝓫𝔂𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓱𝓾𝓶 ❀ 𝓲𝓷𝓫𝓸𝔁

[girlybruiser]

ＩＮＢＯＸ 𝕥𝕖𝕩𝕥 💬 ✦ 𝕒𝕦𝕕𝕚𝕠 📞 ✦ 𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕠 📹 ✦ 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 🎬 𝕔𝕠𝕕𝕖 𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕥

Comments

[placation]

I can only imagine just how overwhelming it is. Don't rush yourself, Okumura-san.

[girlybruiser]

I'll be okay. I've faced him before.

[ She's not scared of Akechi Goro. She just has to sit in her feelings for a while, then she'll be fine. ]

Can I ask you something, Dr. Maruki?

[placation]

Of course. You can ask me anything.

[girlybruiser]

It seems you trust him, right?
He's living with you and Akira-kun and he came to your rescue before.
So... you must trust him.

[placation]

[ Haru might as well ask a bird if it flies. ]

Akechi-kun and I have been through more here than I could ever begin to explain.

There are a handful of people who I trust without question. He tops that list.

I'll understand if you find that difficult to believe.

[girlybruiser]

I'm not sure if I fully comprehend, but I cannot deny he has been a valuable ally.

[ Maybe this world is his second chance? He was pleasant enough with her, barring some passive aggressive behaviour she clocked. ]

If he is getting along with Akira-kun and hasn't tried anything, then I can try to accept that answer as well.

[ NOBODY TELL HER ABOUT ANY STABBINGS OR SHOOTINGS. ]

[placation]

[ Hasn't tried anything. Well, that's not Maruki's story to tell. ]

Like I said, there's no need to rush through your own feelings. Take your time. We certainly aren't going anywhere any time soon!

[girlybruiser]

I guess so. I can't believe it's been over a week and I am still here.
What did you do when you first got here?

[ Is she missing college already? Maybe. It was busywork at least. ]

[placation]

Ah... well...

There was an interesting phenomenon occurring when I first arrived. We were able to share in one another's dreams. I don't know if I was particularly susceptible to it, but I couldn't go a single night without dreaming of being back in the nurse's office at Shujin, and another dreamer would walk through that door for a counseling session. You can imagine that didn't make for very restful sleep!

So I spent my nights conducting sessions with dreamers, and my days working toward opening my original office. You could say that I was singularly focused on counseling at that time.

[ And it would be an understatement. ]

Oh! I did also learn to enjoy hiking and camping!

[girlybruiser]

Was someone responsible for that?
Someone I met the other week had mentioned he had thought a being was responsible for us being brought here, but this being passed away.

[ It's baffling, really. How does one share in a dream? Does she have to worry about someone sharing in hers? ]

The dreams still don't happen, do they?

[placation]

No, they haven't happened in a long time.

Vaeros was the figurehead who died, and there are those who believe he was responsible for bringing us here and inflicting strange happenings on us... but there are also those of us who believe there are other powers at work. Considering people like yourself have continued to appear and strange things have continued to happen in his absence, I believe all signs point toward the latter.

Things are relatively calm right now, which is for the best. I wish I could say it will remain that way, but...

[girlybruiser]

Is something bad going to happen?
I was told we made wishes to come here. I don't recall that at all. I'm fairly certain I was going to sleep with the other girls in the camper and then next thing I knew, I was here.

[ And a mysterious satchel with that vial in it... it's still sitting aside, untouched. ]

[placation]

[ Well, hold that thought. ]

You don't remember your wish?

ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER IT

[girlybruiser]

Well...
I'm not entirely sure of it, is all.

SOME DO SOME DON'T IT'S UP TO U

[placation]

That's fascinating...

Some people don't remember their wishes, while others do. I've always wondered what the deciding factor is for that.

[ And then there are those like Akechi who claim they don't remember their wish, but Maruki knows with certainty that they do.

With Haru, he's not so sure. She'd have no reason to hide something like that–

From anyone but him, he supposes. ]

To answer your earlier question, something is bound to happen sooner or later. This reality is volatile, and we've been thrown into dangerous situations many times before.

We always make it through, though. This group of people is surprisingly resilient, and phenomenally powerful.

OH THANK GOD THANK U MOD-SENPAI i've been playing it as a hazy memory/her not wanting to face it yet

[girlybruiser]

[ She can't be certain. She thinks when drifting off in the camper, she might have mumbled something about the pain she had been feeling again and wanting to move ahead with her life. All of it spurned on after her encounter with Mari-san, but she can't pinpoint why

So, it must have been a dream, right? ]

It almost sounds like its cognition is influenced. I wonder who or what is behind it. There must be a culprit.
I'm relieved to hear that, too. I did see a vial in the satchel when I arrived. Is that a potion to help?

[ No self-respecting young woman is going to drink a mysterious bottle just because a note says so. ]

[placation]

[ All at once, it's both a shock to the system and a tremendous relief to be talking to someone whose logic operates on a similar level to his own. ]

Obviously I'm biased in the matter, but from my perspective, you're exactly right. There have been instances in the past where what happened here was directly influenced by cognitions of dreamers, too... I'll fill you in on that sometime soon.

For the time being, though - you didn't drink the potion right away? I'm impressed! Most people do...

What color is yours, Okumura-san?

[girlybruiser]

[ More information to tuck away, hm? This world is proving to be unique, that's for sure. ]

I think Mako-chan would have scolded me for not being more cautious as a young woman had I done that.
It's red. Are there different colours?

[placation]

There are! Yours will give you some sort of elemental power. Isn't that fascinating?

It's entirely up to you whether or not you drink it, of course. I have to admit I was skeptical of them for a long time, but these days I feel confident saying they're harmless.

[ AKECHI DNI ♥ ]

On top of that, they're lifesavers for people who don't otherwise have powers, or who haven't been able to regain any inherent abilities yet.

[girlybruiser]

They awaken a brand new power? What sort of power?

[ Unfortunately for Haru, she's assumed she would be powerless from the start as she didn't enter in her Phantom Thief clothes, nor did she immediately believe it might be a cognitive world she had entered, therefore she's in the real world and cannot access her Persona.

She wonders if she should try to summon Milady and see what happens. ]

I wasn't aware we would have to regain our power. Is there a way to do that?
... do we need it here? I'm sorry for all the questions.

[ If she has to fight, she gladly will swing that axe down. ]

[placation]

The element in question seems to vary from person to person... A good friend of mine gained some fire-based powers from it. Perhaps you'd get the same thing?

Ah, but before we talk about regaining abilities...

I'd like to ask you something, Okumura-san, but I'll understand if you don't want to answer me.

[girlybruiser]

Really? That sounds incredible!

[ But that's kind of stealing Ann's thunder, isn't it? Or well... fire.

Though the idea of being able to control fire is a tempting one. She looks aside at her potion, wondering what would happen to her if she drank it.

However, the thought is put aside when she reads Maruki's next message. ]

What is it?

[placation]

Candidly... by the time I left Shujin, I had pieced together that you all were Phantom Thieves, but that was all I knew. The true nature of the cognitive world and the abilities that the Phantom Thieves utilized within it were completely unknown to me.

Yet you didn't hesitate to mention the Metaverse to me, and you certainly aren't hiding that you have a power that you could regain. I assume that means you already know I have a similar power as well.

Did something happen after Christmas Eve?

[girlybruiser]

[ Haru takes a moment to collect herself, remind herself of these confusing timelines Maruki tried to explain to her upon arrival. ]

Do you really not remember anything after Christmas Eve? Did Akira-kun not explain?

[ She assumed he would have, on the basis of him being the leader. Has she overstepped a boundary in place? ]

[placation]

I haven't lived beyond Christmas Eve. There's nothing for me to remember.

Kurusu-kun's situation is complicated. I'd prefer that he talk to you about it himself. I don't intend to speak for him.