estoria | [open] coping mechanisms

Who: Simon Blackquill (

shacklebreaker), Taka, and you!
When: 21st December/early hours of 22nd
Where: Various
What: The Twisted Samurai spends the day alone for some personal reflection.
Rating/Warning: AA5 spoilers. Mentions of death/implied suicide. Drankin.

i. AFTERNOON - CERES GARDENS

[Blackquill's brought his hawk to the gardens to give him some exercise. At the moment he's throwing scraps of meat for Taka to snatch out of midair, making the bird work for his food. If Taka catches it successfully -- which he does without fail, every time -- the hawk is whistled back and rewarded with another treat.

It's not a training session, but rather, a way to get Taka to stretch his wings. The hawk is already well-trained enough that Blackquill doesn't even need a hood or jesses for his bird. The last thing he's interested in is tying his faithful companion down when Taka can fly free, and it gives him a calming sense of peace to watch him soar and dive through the air.

Once Taka has eaten his fill, Blackquill can be found strolling through the gardens. His hawk is hidden in the trees, although anyone observant might notice the bird never strays too far away.]

ii. LATE EVENING THROUGH TO 1AM - NOVUS/REPLEA

[Given today's date, there's morbid appropriateness in stowing away for the evening in what the locals knew as the 'entrance to the underworld'. The bar might be considered seedy to some, filled with criminals and rebel activity as it was, but after seven years on death row, Blackquill is more comfortable with this brand of drinking company than anything else.

Not that he's interested in socialising. He's too wrapped up in his own thoughts for that, nursing a drink at the bar and trying to numb the dull pain that has hung over him all day.

He'd spent seven years in a cell. Seven years, waiting for his own willing demise. For seven years of sleepless nights, confinement and isolation, the past replaying over and over in his mind, he'd marched, slowly but resolutely, towards the end.

Then, at the very last moment, she'd reached out and snatched him from the jaws of death.

Were all those years worth it? Yes, if it was to serve the one more important to him than life itself. But now after all that pain, here they were, in Cerealia. Their world had been destroyed, and they owed their existences here to data. The more he thinks about it, the more he feels he'd failed her. And that her struggles, too, had been for nothing...

But such thoughts are enough to drive a man to madness. Better not to think on it. He downs the last of his beer, and slams down a hand on the bartop for another.

Tonight is going to be a long night.]

iii. EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING - APARTMENTS

[It's almost 2am when Blackquill returns to the apartment complex. He'd hoped to slip in unnoticed, but as he fumbles to find his room key, the plastic snowman Athena had put outside her room a few days prior bursts into song. Yet again.]

Curse you, you noisy thing-- [He mutters under his breath, rifling through his pockets with more urgency. He'll try and get into his room before anyone on the floor is woken up...]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Mitsuru's finger was already pulling the trigger by the time the words left Blackquill's mouth. There was a sound of shattering glass and a tall statuesque woman like figure emerged to stand behind Mitsuru.

She turns around, gives Artemesia a nod and the Persona disappears. Then she turns to Blackquill, sheathing her sword. ]

I apologise. There have been incidents in the past where malfunctioning robots were quite sinister.

...

[WHAT JUST HAPPENED??? He's not registering a word she just said, too preoccupied with staring at where the Persona had been hovering only moments before.]

What... What the devil was that?! You shot yourself!

I did.

[ This fact doesn't phase Mitsuru as she takes a moment to readjust her robe before addressing him again. ]

I apologise if it looks unusual, but I can assure you that I am unharmed.

[ She's just going to give him a minute. ]

[Her calmness about the whole situation when he'd been in fear for her life makes his shock turn to irritation. Was this normal, wherever she came from, or was he just the victim of a very elaborate prank?]

Explain yourself at once.

[ Mitsuru meets his eyes, still calm and level. ]

As you are aware, we are from differing worlds. In my world, there are some that have the potential to summon parts of their psyche to serve them in combat. They are known as a Persona.

[ No need to go into all the detail of the Jungian psychology here, nor the tarot or the shadow world. ]

However, in order to do so, it is necessary to induce a state of duress. Hence --

[ Mitsuru holds out the Evoker for Blackquill to take a closer look. It has the appearance and weight of the gun, but no ammunition. ]

It is a necessary step for combat.

[She doesn't need to go into detail of the psychology for him to recognise the terminology at work, and he snorts derisively.] What pseudo-scientific claptrap is that? The mind does not house-- whatever that was.

[Still, he takes the Evoker carefully, and looks it over. It really is unloaded, and yet he'd seen her pull the trigger...

...He's never drinking again.]

You would be surprise at what powers the mind can hold.

[ she says, without missing a beat. She'll allow Blackquill to keep looking at her Evoker, before speaking up again. ]

As fascinating as it is, my Evoker is still a piece of specialised equipment. I would like it back.

"Evoker"? That is its name?

[He reluctantly gives it back. Despite his sceptical response, he would have liked to have time to examine it more closely... It would have been something that would have fascinated his late mentor. Maybe it was only a step up from such technology as the Mood Matrix.

With that in mind, now he feels obliged to ask more questions.]

And how do you use such abilities to fight?

[ She's glad to have the Evoker back in her possession, and in response to his question, Mitsuru just gives a smile. ]

Do you really wish to pursue this line of questioning at 3am with robot parts on the floor?

[ Don't think she hasn't noticed the post-drinking smell on you. ]

I see no reason not to pursue this line of questioning, after seeing you shoot yourself in the head -- and live to tell the tale.

[Really, the time of night is no concern in comparison.]

[ Mitsuru is thinking to herself, 'You are one of the weirdest neighbours I've ever lived with, and she's lived in a dorm with Akihiko Sanada and Shinjiro Aragaki.' That thought aside, she delicately clears her throat. ]

There is a twenty fifth hour that existed between one day and next. We called this the "Dark Hour." Normal people do not know it happens, for they transmogrify into coffins to protect themselves from what becomes unleashed in this hour.

[ The Evoker gets put up to her head again. ]

There are creatures that roam this hour, named Shadows. They aim to consume our humanness, to reduce us to nothing more than soulless being. There are some of us who in experiencing the Dark Hour, in facing our mortality, fought back.

[ Dramatic, but she shoots again. The crash of glass is heard once again and Artemisia appears behind her, flexing her whip. ]

That is what a Persona can do. This is Artemesia and I have had known her since she was very young.

[ Artemesia lowers itself more behind her, its gaze fixed on Blackquill. If it had a gaze, that is. ]

She specialises in ice and representative of tarot arcana The Empress.

[ She's just going to leave Artemesia out for now. ]

[He can't help but flinch and take a step back when she shoots again, and the Persona appears. Even knowing to expect it this time doesn't make it any easier to see.]

...Yes, yes, the first demonstration was more than enough. [He huffs, trying to regain his composure. Really, there was no need to do it again, especially if it puts her mind under strain. He stares at Artemesia for a long moment, uncomfortable but doing his utmost not to show it, then back to Mitsuru.]

All I gathered from that explanation is that I should give up trying to understand you people here. You're all quite batty.

[And when people are eccentric even by his standards, that's saying something. Having his logical prosecutor's mind trying to work out rational explanations for all the illogical things he sees here is maddening.]

Or perhaps it is you who is the batty one.

[ She knows you have a hawk. She can hear it occasionally. ]

There is nothing difficult about my explanation though it may be difficult for certain people to make a leap of faith regarding these things.

[ Said quite matter of factly, because while she is quite rational herself, she is quite open to things that may be the realm of reason or logic such as her Persona.

Artemesia disappears, and in that moment, the robot on the floor starts making noise again. ]

I am the batty one? You should guard your tongue, if we are to be neighbours.

[... Or he could just, you know, not threaten people, instead of acting like she's an inmate from a few cells down. Then the robot starts making noise again, and he shoots a glare at it.]

All this commotion over that girl's silly taste in decorations. I'll see to it it stays quiet.

[He moves over to the snowman, picking it up to switch it off. Breaking it would be a little too mean-spirited, even for him.]

[open] coping mechanisms

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject