[Network] Nerd Moment

[fogboundcrow]

This is a matter of urgency.

Do you, or do you not, believe that Featherman is relevant enough in the collective cognition to manifest as Personas?

It stands to reason that it's possible, doesn't it? It's a long-lasting tokusatsu franchise that has touched the hearts and minds of children across generations.

There are some Personas with utterly abhorrent forms. Completely obscene, even.

Ergo, I don't think it's too much to ask for a Persona based on heroic symbols of justice.

Comments

[fogboundcrow]

"Oh." Um. Pardon Raven if he stares, cheeks slightly pink. "...You honestly think so?"

That's high praise, certainly. Not something to take lightly.

[minipancake]

Oh. Shit. Did he mean that?

It's the work of only a moment to decide that he did. His smile creeps back, soft and warm as he picks up his own sandwich. "Yeah. I really do. You looked into a whole murder. And you worked with Naoto Shirogane. And you're friends with Magpie."

Okay, maybe that last is a little self-deprecating.

[fogboundcrow]

Okay, that Magpie comment makes him laugh. "Well, we haven't finished solving the case... but Magpie is somewhat imposing until you get to know him."

Even he can see that. Doesn't make Magpie any less cool, though.

[minipancake]

"I know him." Who else would, after all, if Wagtail doesn't? He takes his plate to head to the couch, beckoning Raven with his free hand.

[fogboundcrow]

Raven follows along. "But do you know him? There is a difference." Casual versus closeness... Raven has a certain advantage in that respect.

[minipancake]

Dropping down onto the couch, he looks up at Raven. "No, I mean...."

He touches his heart with one slightly sticky hand. "He only did what I was going to do. I know him."

[fogboundcrow]

Ah. Raven sits down beside him, resting his plate in his lap. "It's all right. You have so many other options now."

[minipancake]

"Yeah. And he doesn't."

Decisively, he shoves half a sandwich into his mouth. They still haven't answered Raven's question, have they?

[fogboundcrow]

"He has a chance to change his future, just as you changed yours. Even if he can't go back in time, there's still hope."

Here, he'll place a hand on Wagtail's shoulder. It's okay.

[minipancake]

Ooh. He glances at the hand, then summons a smile. It's tougher going than before.

"See, maybe that's what makes you a hero. Like Feather Hawk. You always see the best in everything, somehow. At least in the people who matter to you."

[fogboundcrow]

"I wasn't always so hopeful." He shyly takes a bite of his sandwich. No, all things considered, he's changed quite a lot.

[minipancake]

"Maybe. Or maybe we always had to be hopeful, somehow, so as not to give up."

He takes a more restrained bite of his own sandwich. After all, even when nothing but hate keeps you going, you still keep going.

[fogboundcrow]

"Honestly, spite drove me forward for a long time. I was guarded. I barely trusted anyone..." Hmm... Another bite. At least the snack is sweet.

[minipancake]

He knows. He reaches for Raven's free hand, with his own.

[fogboundcrow]

"I suppose we're both living proof that it's possible to recover." He accepts the hand, giving it a little squeeze. "But it's easier at our age, I think."

[minipancake]

Easier, sure. When you're surrounded by people who care about you, all of a sudden, it feels like the whole world is new. But Magpie has had that too, for far longer than Wagtail, and yet....

He squeezes Raven's hand in return. "What's your plan, anyway? To bend Feather Hawk to your will?"

[fogboundcrow]

"That makes it sound so aggressive." Not that he's necessarily wrong in terms of the raw logistics... "It's more that I'd like to welcome him into my soul and fight alongside him."

[minipancake]

"Yes, with a gun to his head." Beginning to grin again, he resists the urge to dab whipped cream on Raven's nose. "Don't you have to find a Shadow first, who is Feather Hawk?"

It bears mentioning that Wagtail does not exactly know how this works.

[fogboundcrow]

"...Well, I could also get lucky with Shuffle Time. Or fusion." Ah, but now that he mentions it, a hold up is rather forceful, isn't it?

[minipancake]

Oh, that's a thought. And yes, now he comes to mention it... "How does fusion work, anyway? If you could design a fusion to get anything you want, you would just have said so."

[fogboundcrow]

"It depends on the components of the fusion, whether or not it's a two-Person fusion, a triangle fusion, or something even more advanced... Even then, what the Personas create together is not something I can control so much as something entirely dependent on the individual parts and their strength at the time."

Chomp. Delicious strawberries and cream...

[minipancake]

Wagtail's eyes get wider and wider as he listens, his own sandwich forgotten.

"Wow," he breathes. "But then that's out, right? Unless you want to spend entirely too much time in the Velvet Room."

[fogboundcrow]

"Or... we could use the power of gifts and flattery to get one of the attendants to share their secrets." He gestures with his sandwich, as if it holds some latent secret.

[minipancake]

He looks down at Raven's gesturing hand. "It would have to be a really good sandwich."

[fogboundcrow]

"Who said it has to be a sandwich? We could prepare a banquet. Desserts... A ten layer cake."

Ten may be excessive, but surely it would be impressive! And that is the key.