destinystrings | Ally-hunting

Entry tags:

chiaki nanami [ou]

Ally-hunting

Who: Nanami, Open Invitation
Where: Streets of Hinoto-Ri, 13th Hour
Summary: If wandering around until you found a party worked for MMORPGs, why shouldn't it work here?
Warnings: nil

The sky was red. Nanami Chiaki was, once again, ignoring common sense and wandering around.

Then again, many players did that, didn't they.

Battles were supposedly best done in pairs here- thanks to that, it was apparently a thing for some people to make appointments on the Network. Nanami had browsed the Network messages, gotten an idea of which locations would be rife with demonhunters tonight- and in retrospect she should've made a comment, maybe, but it felt...... ...... ..... it felt awkward to say anything when everyone seemed to know everyone else. Yeah. Nanami was not good with networking. (A pity this site was called the Network. Eyyerugh, her kyrptonite!! Haha.)

The plan was to one- find a fellow hunter to tag-team with, and two- a quest aptly described by miming a gun with your hands and going pew pew pew. Or even better, ratatatatatatata like a machine gun, and cue evil laughter. Her Evoker was in her hand and she absently experimented with flipping it about once in a while as she strolled. There were growls and indescribably grotesque animal noises- but there were also large buildings with their anti-demon barriers, that Nanami made it a point to landmark in her mind in case she ever encountered something she didn't feel like fighting.

In many cases it took less effort outsprinting your average Rattata-class mook than actually engaging them. Quest One had to be cleared before progress could be counted for the next.

Now, time to go player-hunting!

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Sorry, no players here, just some kind of small purple demon-creature surfing through the air on a wave of purple sludge studded with screaming faces.

Desco is entirely too fond of The Smooze's Pass Through spell, you see.

Nanami watched the purple blur steamroll down the street, adding sound effects in her head; nyoooooom. Hmm. Maybe they had to get somewhere in a hurry. The demon certainly looked unusual, but with each meeting Nanami was beginning to figure that there was no set genre or setting that her fellow players were coming from. Herself as a highschool-age girl probably looked odd to some of them, maybe.

Like this demon surfing on purple sludge.

..... ..... looked fun.

Nanami put her Evoker to her head, pulled the trigger, and was already clambering onto the metallic wings of the Galaga Ship as it materialized.

(Insert dramatic one-liner: "Driver, follow that ~~taxi~~ mass of purple sludge!")

Nanami didn't yet figure out the specifics of what was letting Desco demondodge so easily, but if she couldn't Pass Through them she could just run them down, couldn't she....?

Let's play Grand Theft Auto.

Desco's eyes give her something fairly close to 360 degree vision, so it's not that hard for her to spot someone following her on a spaceship. The Smooze corners like a pregnant whale, so rather than reverse course she just takes a wide turn through a nearby building, looping around to pull up near Nanami.

"Hello, new subject! Queen Desco appreciates the old-school, retro charm of your Persona!"

The Slimemobile turns and ghosts through a building, surprisingly. Nanami taps on her spaceship to tell it to stop- she wasn't [i]that[/i] serious about playing Grand Theft Auto, sadly. She didn't think the people of Hinoto-Ri would take very well to property damage, which was definitely what was going to happen if the evidently-corporeal Galaga flew straight after.

......

.....well. What n-

"Hello, new subject! Queen Desco appreciates the old-school, retro charm of your Persona!"

"Oh-" Nanami turned to look. "Ah, thank you. .... .... Queen Desco's Persona also has a very unique charm to it. Eyeballs and slime are very unusual for a choice of ride...! At least, where I come from."

Nod nod.

"Desco likes the aesthetic very much! That is why she took it from the Velvet Room."

Pause.

"She kept it because flying through walls is really cool."

"I see." Velvet Room- more terms she needed to check out later. There's so much to find out about this city. Info gathering isn't that easy on the other side of the console screen, when the setting doesn't always give you internet or a database to check gameFAQs from. Not that Nanami wasn't aware that there were all these fourth-wall restrictions in place- she was, very much- but it was interesting to be an actual playable character, for once. Most authentic experience ever.

"Could I ask, how does it fly through walls? Is it a slime-with-eyes thing?"

"Desco is the one that flies! The Smooze just lets her fly through walls!"

".....oh." Oh.

"Oh, people don't fly a lot where I come from.... so that's something interesting."

"Well, not everyone can be as amazing as Desco, after all!"

Looked like a bit of a character with a narcissism complex. Noted for future reference.

"....that's true." Short laugh. Nanami was kind of running out of things to say, though, she wasn't the best conversation partner..... ..... pauses were not good things.... .... ...

".....say, ah, what brings Queen Desco out here tonight?"

"Hunting! Desco is beating up unlicensed demons!"

Pause.

"Now, new subject, you will be helping your Queen!"

Ah, right. Exactly where she was hoping the conversation to go. Hunting unlicensed demons sounded like a great levelgrinding activity.

Nanami wasn't too sure about the 'new subject' thing, but she couldn't really think of anything particular to do about it, so....

"Help you beat up unlicensed demons? Mmm, I'd like to."

(Galaga beeped softly underneath her in what most likely would not be interpreted as enthusiasm. Too few people spoke the Early Arcade Game Robot dialect.)

"Then follow Desco, subject!"

And off she goes to pick a fight with weird grey fairy things.

"Desco and Retro Girl will beat you all up!"

Cue in-combat BGM. Nanami half-expected for there to be a health bar appearing somewhere for their new opponent- how else were they supposed to know how hard to hit, after all?

Ah, right, this was real life. Dubiously realistic real life, as a big part of her life had turned out to be, but that was besides the point. "I assume we attack at will? Do you know if these things are weak to anything?"

It didn't matter too much if Desco didn't have an answer because Nanami wasn't planning to wait for one, anyway. If it was her turn she took it. Her spaceship beeped in a way that would never in a million years be interpreted as determination, and opened fire.

> Attack: Dream Needle

Ooo, right in the weakness! Desco's limiting herself today - she's got out Kogasa, her creepy combat umbrella, so she just pulps one of the Zombie Fairies with a simple swipe, shaking the remains off nonchalantly as she observes Nanami fight.

A backwards glance reveals that Desco is doing fine without having much Persona action. Well, some games are just as big on player hack-and-slashing as utilizing a summon- but not where Nanami's from, sadly, she does have classmates who are downright badass with a weapon (or even without) but she's as civilian as they come.

As someone who's treating this a little like a Pokemon game it's a bit of a conundrum to figure out how a cross-genre hack-and-slasher might fit into this. The Galaga's got quite a few support moves that would work great in a group context, and learning to work in a group context is supposedly what Nanami's out to achieve.... but would Revolution really boost the effectiveness of a creepy combat umbrella?

Only one way to find out. Desco's not going to be the last ally that's swinging something around. "Some incoming on the left, can you take them?"

> Revolution

Desco grins a little at the boosting spell and rotates to the left, her two primary tentacles snapping their jaws.

"FINAL BOSS ARISES!"

Ooh, that was nice. What is it like to be able to do that- Nanami wishes she could, but alas, her own Persona seems limited to one form of attack. She still isn't sure if it's because she's low-leveled or because shooting beams is basically the only thing ships like Galaga do. Time will tell, hopefully?

The swarm's more or less thinning out, probably. It doesn't seem to take much work finish them off, so Nanami doesn't see much use in wasting turncount on the many status moves she has. Oh well. Levelgrinding was just like that.

She directs the aim of her Galaga to whatever she can see on the right.

> Dream Needle

Desco floats merrily over to where Nanami is, idly cratering one of the Zombie Fairies that gets too close to her with a swipe of Kogasa.

"That was fun!"

"Mmm, quite." The small kick one gets out of defeating enemies never quite dies down, especially not if it's a new game you're starting.

There's a moment of silence and Nanami gets the impression that she ought to fill it with something before it stretches into awkwardness.

"Where I come from we... most of us can't really fight, so I'm impressed that you can do all of that."

She also ought to sound more excited, probably. This socializing thing is hard.

"....!"

Desco puffs up at this.

"Hmhmhmhmm! More, more! Praise Desco more!"

.....?

Um, okay.... the praise-seeking reminded Nanami of Saionji, almost; but Desco appeared to lack Saionji's sadistic streak. That was something to be appreciated.... ..... still. Dealing with this manner of excitability was not something Nanami was very good at.

"....I... liked that Final Boss move of yours?" Was that praise? That was a move with cool visual effect.

YES. GOOD.

"Hmhmhmhmm! Final Boss Arises is the first of Desco's three Killer Moves! They are proof of her status as the Legendary Final Boss, Queen of Evil Deeds, the Adorable Endbringer! Truly, you have good taste!"

Her tail, which has retracted down into a little stub, is a blur behind her as it wags furiously.

'Legendary Final Boss, Queen of Evil Deeds', huh.

At least the 'adorable' part of 'The Adorable Endbringer' made sense. This demonkid looked about four, and was wagging her tail like a dog.

"Thank you."

Well, videogames didn't have the best of logic. Real life didn't fare much better, contrary to general consensus. If Nanami once found herself with a talking bear for a principal, she had no problem just concluding that where-ever Desco was from simply had toddler demon bosses.

"You were a Legendary Final Boss? Oh, that must've been great!"

"Yes! Desco defeated Bio-Suits and Ranger-type enemies and the Justice Valkyries and her little sister, Earth's Guardian God! That is why Desco is queen of everything ever!"

"Must be nice." Thankfully a lot of Nanami's pauses was now being masked by Desco's enthusiasm. It was getting a little iffy coming up with proper ways to further the conversation, other than the occasional filler response which she was pretty decent at generating on the spot- "mmm, wow...!"

By the time Desco finishes listing her achievements Nanami has scripted something to say. Phew. "And what a queen you must make. Hey, does Desco want to take a break? I'm not sure, are there any places still open for players after the 13th Hour-" 24-hour shops were a thing apparently, Nanami just wasn't sure if Hinoto-Ri had any of those. "-does Desco's... queenly stamina feel like a break? Or we can keep cruising...."

A slight pause as Desco considers Nanami.

"...you're kind of bad at talking, huh?"

".....yeah...." That obvious, huh.

No, actually, Nanami isn't surprised.

"...you took a while to notice. Does that mean I got a bit better...?"

There's a woman standing in a doorway, looking rather cross. As far as MMORPG characters, she probably would be the taciturn hard hitter, but she certainly looks the part - dressed in her normal severe outfit with her whip prominently at her side.

Demon hunting... was rather tedious. Which is why she's waiting in a rather dark part of the town, waiting for the demons to come near her rather than her chasing them.

She may be open to conversation, maybe. But with the way she's leaning against the wall, you might as well expect a marker over her head.

You'd expect someone as stoic and severe-looking as the character over there to intimidate Nanami. Nanami finds that a lot of people lump quiet and shy together, which is understandable but not always a valid correlation. In games these sorts of characters had the potential to be key to the plotline, or at least quite useful. If they were the designated Capable Mentor Character, hoo boy.

Let's go! Approach and press A when in talking distance. Let's also hope a verbal dressing-down isn't in the plotline.

"Ah, excuse me.....?"

"Hm?" Franziska's voice is non-committal, but this person seems harmless.

That doesn't mean she's going to be nice to them, it just means that she won't get out the whip to use on them on the first go.

"What is it? If you're here to demon hunt, then be on your way. I'm waiting here for them to pass by."

The lady looks fierce. But Nanami is a firm believer in every character being where they are for a reason. She'll press A again just to confirm if all this person is willing to say are NPC dismissal lines.

The SHSL Gamer bobs her head politely. "I see. Um, I a bit new, so could I ask if there's any advantage of waiting over actively hunting?"

Nanami shifts herself closer to the wall into a less conspicuous position. She's assuming the shadowed ambush post is meant to hide the woman she's talking to, and she'd rather not ruin everything and get a earful for it. "....other than, well. Convenience?"

"When your Persona is low levelled... and you are not someone who actively engages in such acts." Franziska began, slowly. "You do not pick any fight. For there is no "training area" or "progression" here, only beasts which roam of every strength and shape!"

She grips her whip a little tighter, gesturing to the figure of something large in the distance, that lurched away a few seconds later.

"I wish not to die in this forsaken place."

Ah, but you see, in this game the beasts are their own training. After you get pass a certain point in your gaming life some might start to prefer getting pointers through the actual experience itself, tutorials tended to be distastefully simplified anyway- the closer to the real thing "practice" is, the better practice it is! Wasn't it, and if the practice was the real thing then if you didn't lose all of your lives you were as ready as you could possibly be.

Sadly, this lady did not look like she gamed a lot. But that was fine. She had a point.

"That is true.... .... though if you pick no fights, what's low-leveled will remain low-leveled for a long time.... I see where you're coming from, though."

Nanami leaned against the wall casually. "My Persona is nothing fantastic either. In this case... may I wait with you? Two low-leveled Personas stand a better chance than one, since you're talking in terms of survival."

"Tell me who you are first," began Franziska as she gave Nanami a look over. She looked dependable enough, and the way she talked about Personas meant that she was genuine, as rare as that was in Franziska's world view. She reminded Franziska of Maya in a strange way, in her openness and eagerness.

She just wondered whether there was any Character Quirks (TM) that she'd have to deal with.

"Mmm, true...."

Ah, right. It wouldn't make sense to work with someone whose name you didn't even know yet. The night was relatively quiet for a 13th Hour and Nanami was a little lethargic, truth to be told- so details were missed out. Whoops. It was good that this wasn't a situation where you picked one multiple-choice option and got locked into a route, then. Chances to double back and redo were always nice.

"..... my name is Nanami Chiaki." Who you are- was a name enough? What parts of her identity did this woman need, age and birthdate? It didn't look like people here even knew what Hope's Peak was, let alone the titles they used.

To be honest, those multiple-choice selections they put in some in-game conversations were far from her favorite thing about games.

"Could I have your name too?"

In reality, not much. Franziska was more curious to see how this person would respond - what a person is willing or unwilling to volunteer about themselves says a lot about of them as a person.

"My name is Franziska von Karma. Very well, do you have a weapon?"

Franziska von Karma. That's quite the foreign name- European? Ehh. Something along those lines. And then there was the matter of the lady's next question-

"A weapon?"

A weapon? Sigh. Nanami glances at the whip by Franziska's side- a big majority of the players here seemed to be apt at combat even without a Persona, hmm. It really makes one wonder if she should invest in a gun or a sword or something.

"No, unfortunately.... .... not one of my own, I fight with my Persona."

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