[As she situates herself next to him, Scott keeps his head tilted to her with a slight smile and just lets his hands rest in his lap. He's glad that she looks a little better about all this, as he really didn't want that tense air to continue existing between them. Probably helps that he feels some of his own guilt finally leave his shoulders. She may not have needed an apology, but it's nice to have it out of his system and know that she's truly okay.]
Didn't even sting a little? Damn.
[Death incarnation or not, his optic blasts usually do a little more than sting, but he's glad that she was able to resist them one way or another. Maybe worrying in its own way, but he doesn't view it like that.] Is Thanatos your favorite? I won't tell your other Personas.
Thanatos isn't weak to fire, but don't worry, it still hurt a lot! It's a really powerful attack. But I've been hit by way worse.
[He probably wasn't worrying about that... unless he was? Boys are weird about how strong they are, she thinks. If Thanatos had been weak to fire, it would've been another story entirely.
Anyway. She grins with a little bit of embarrassed amusement as she tips her head toward him.]
Some of them are the jealous type. I don't know about favorite, but he is special. I guess you could say he's been part of me the longest...? Before I even really knew about my potential. He's also the only one I ever really got to know and talk to. Or like, a part of him, anyway. [First Pharos, then Thanatos, then Ryoji, then...] Avatars of death are way more complicated than you'd think.
[Scott cringes slightly when she confirms that they did actually hurt. He didn't mean it like that...! He can already feel another apology forming, but those words don't quite escape him this time. She's okay, she's already said so and he doesn't want to keep bringing it up when they're both trying to move on. He just has to make it up to her in some other way and never shoot his powers at any of her personas.
Taking responsibility or something like that. He's not sure if this is the way, but he'll just go with it for now.]
That's a fancy way of saying that you talk to yourself, Kotone. [He teases just lightly, his eyes crinkling behind his shades.] And I don't know, death seems like a complicated guy.
[She is okay! And it's a misguided attempt at trying to salve his own feelings, so probably best to just let her have this moment. Instead, she just huffs quietly through her nose and gives him a weary little smile.]
It kind of is, huh? [Taking the teasing absolutely in stride, because yeah! He's not wrong! And it's funny when he puts it like that! But she nudges his shoulder gently.] He's... a part of me. It's really the best kind of explanation I can give. I have a lot of Personas, but Thanatos was one of the first. Him and Orpheus, anyway.
I really am glad you're okay, though. [She lets herself rest against his shoulder, just a little, as if in reassurance.] I mean that.
[Orpheus... that's another Greek god, right? He just doesn't know which one. Scott definitely is no expert on them, beside Thanatos, because who wouldn't remember the representations of death from different myths and all that? The mutant almost asks if she's like, part Greek or something, but no dumbass, she's clearly Japanese.
He lets out a small laugh, just trying his best to take this all in stride.]
Orpheus, huh? Big fan of Greek mythology? [Maybe that's why two of her Personas are Greek based? But Scott isn't truly seeking to hear the answer to that, especially as he feels her lean against his shoulder. Oh, okay, play it cool, Summers. At least it's not hard to considering the circumstances leading to all this.]
...I'm glad too. You being okay. I know it's not the same, but. I get how scary it is to lose control of your powers and everything.
[She hums her dissent. Mm-mm, not really, not before joining SEES. After that, it was almost required to have a passing knowledge of Greco-Roman mythology -- in addition to a bunch of others.
No point mentioning the Norse gods or literal angels she has in her heart right now, or the ones who've passed through before. That's just so much to explain when she can just move on.]
Has it happened to you? [She taps close to her eye, where glasses would sit if she were wearing ones like Scott's.] Lost control of your powers, I mean.
Yeah, when I first got my powers. I didn't know what was happening, besides my eyes hurting a whole lot. One of my classmates was bothering me at the bathroom stall and before I knew it, I opened my eyes and shot those red blasts.
I... came close to really hurting him.
[He's fine throwing spitwads at him and insulting his face, but definitely no actual harming. Also, Scott can't remember if he's told this story to anyone else, maybe a couple others, but it's definitely not common. Remembering that day in his old school high is never fun, although he never liked that school to begin with. He just always thought he was a freak and guess he has an actual reason to feel that way now. Although, like at Xavier's, he's actually sort of making more friends here than he ever did in regular school.
Scott's not quite sure what that says about him, but whatever.]
For a while, I thought I'd had to keep my eyes closed for the rest of my life. Or hurt everyone around me.
That's... kind of cool, though. [Like how he'd described Thanatos, honestly, but she means it. No need to use an Evoker, no need to make bargains with literal demons, just -- something he has, something he was born with, maybe? Her smile is a little wry as she nods.] It's good you didn't hurt him, but being able to just do something like that... it's impressive.
[She shrugs. Maybe her metric for "things that are cool" is kind of off compared to most people, but SEES does that to a person.]
How'd you get the glasses? I guess someone came to investigate the explosion?
[He's still not sure how he feels about his powers, but he's not going to argue against Kotone, especially if she thinks they're cool. And hey, coming from someone that can summon death and everything, it feeds a little bit into his ego. Helps him be a little more proud of his mutant ability, despite the baggage that comes with it.]
Thanks.
[Scott turns his head just slightly to look at her, smiling and appearing just a tad more upbeat.]
My older brother picked me up and brought me to Xavier's School, it's a place where we're supposed to learn and control our powers. Um, mutants, that is, that's what I'm called back home. [He should probably throw that out there.] Anyway, Professor McCoy developed these sunglasses for me so that I could finally open my eyes.
[If Scott thinks her summoning death and a bunch of other mythological buddies is cool, she's allowed to think literally shooting lasers out of his eyes is cool, too! Again, her perspective might be warped, but can't help being a Persona-user.]
Mutants?
[She makes a bit of a face. Maybe it's a mistranslation with the charm, but doesn't that sound kind of rude?]
[Somehow, he's able to pull of a perplexed expression despite his shades covering his eyes and everything. She... looks slightly offended on his behalf? Because of the term 'mutants?' It's sort of surprising to him, mostly because it never really occurred to Scott how harsh it sounds.]
Yeah, as far as I know. [Which. Isn't much, but it's fine!!] It's because there's a mutation in our genes, err, we have something called the 'x-gene' that makes us different. Like one of my friends can teleport and another can read minds because of it.
[He gives a small shrug.]
Hey, it's fine. I mean, people are usually pretty chill with us unless they're colossal dicks. There's even a 'hero' mutant that saved the president on national television, so everything's cool. [To be young and dumb-- and okay, he's slightly aware that there's some messed up stuff happening, but they are just colossal dicks.]
[Just "oh," because that at once explains a lot and not nearly enough. It still sounds kind of rude to her ears, but she just shrugs, taking him at his word. She's not the one to argue over semantics!
...Also the other powers sound way cooler, but she isn't going to say that. Probably. It's very hard not to say that.]
Well, that's good then! We're just called "Persona-users," [she does air-quotes with her fingers and snorts a laugh.] But we're not on TV or anything. Most people don't know anything about us. It's better that way, probably. Explaining it is a pain.
Pretty original. [Scott snickers lightly, his smile lingering even as he prods a little more at the fact that 'Persona-users' aren't really public knowledge back where she's from.]
You really don't wanna be known to others back home? I mean, you shouldn't have to hide such a big part of yourself. [A pretty cool part of herself--]
[Considering Mitsuru's dad and grandpa, though, it makes complete sense. She wrinkles her nose a little at the idea of being ~known~ and shakes her head. For one thing, President Tanaka had promised to make her famous as a spokesperson for his brand and the whole process sounded like hell, not to mention everything she'd heard about being a celebrity from Akechi just sounded like so much work.]
I don't really care about being famous. I'm okay if just my friends remember me! Besides, it's not really hiding. It's just that I'm not gonna summon my Personas for no reason. You know, everyone will panic, blah-blah-blah.
[She points a finger at her temple in mimicry of her usual motion with the Evoker and mimes pulling the trigger, tilting her own head sideways with the imagined impact.]
[He gives her a slightly lopsided grin, because yeah, he can imagine a teen pointing a gun to her own head to be horrifying. Fuck, he was mortified. And guess summoning giant mythological beings would cause people to panic, but is it more weird than shooting lasers from ones own eyes? Scott opens his mouth to argue, but the mutant closes it soon thereafter, a small 'hrrm' leaving him as he decides to just leave that point alone. It's not like he's constantly shooting lasers when he's walking down the street, but he's not worried about telling others that he's a mutant.
But also, he doesn't go around announcing to everyone around him that he's a mutant?? He's not sure where he's going with this.
Scott decides to just focus on the shit that's happening now and he nudges Kotone lightly with his elbow.]
So. Are there others like you here? Other Persona users?
welcome back!! and no worries i did like No Tags over the weekend lol
[At least she can joke about it! She bumps his shoulder lightly with her own when he nudges her, and while her bright smile doesn't change overmuch, the set of her eyes goes just a little bit distant.
>Lie >Dodge the question >Tell the truth
Maybe it's a testament to how accepting Scott had been of her that she answers at all, but she still hesitates before nodding.]
Yeah. You'll have to find them yourself, though! [The mischievous sparkle returns to her eyes a little as she laughs.] I can't give you all the answers.
[For various reasons that don't feel entirely cool to joke about, not even to Scott. Plus, keeping the mood light sounds great, even as Scott makes a slightly disappointed noise upon hearing her answer. Really???]
Seriously? Ugh, what are the chances they're going to say 'I'm a Persona person' if I ask over the charms?
[There has to be someone like that, right?? Scott makes another groan, but honestly, he's happy for her. Glad that she's not the only Persona user in this world. Sucks feeling alone, even if there are other powered teens here. Maybe there is another mutant in this world and just doesn't want to tell Scott, which rude.]
Hmm... [She counts on her fingers.] Maybe 50%? [Violet and Akira would probably answer honestly, Shinji would ignore it completely, and Goro... Who Knows. Probably wouldn't answer either.
But she smiles up at him and shakes her head.]
Please don't, though. It's annoying to have to explain all this stuff, and people who don't know are gonna be nosy. So, are there other people like you here? With mutations?
[Guess he'll have to do some old-fashioned snooping. It's cool, it'll be a fun sort of challenge or whatever trying to find the other Persona people. A sort of side gig to focus on when he's not worrying about his own shit-- or want to distract himself from said shit.]
No. [He shakes his head, and his mouth forms into a small pout as he thinks about the lack of mutants here. First he was normal and living a boring normal life, then he becomes a mutant but befriends others like him, and now he's back to feeling like the odd one out, despite the fact that he's talking to a girl that can summon death by shooting a gun to her head. It's just. Different.]
I mean, not that I know of. If they're hiding, I just wanna let them know it's okay.
[She leans back on her hands and gives him a small, genuine smile.]
You're a pretty good guy. [Not just thinking about himself, but other people like him. It's nice to see someone else just trying to do their best for other people -- it makes her feel a little worse about hurting him, but she's trying not to dwell on that, so she adds,] Once I finally get the club building all finished, you could put out a call.
[Scott turns his head slightly as she leans back, a smile to him as well as he considers her words.]
Not sure if I just want to create a 'Mutant Club,' might be a little too exclusive. And that sucks.
[Because he's like 85% sure he'll be the only person in that club, which would be really sad. Plus, if there is someone hiding, they probably won't join a club that completely outs them like that.]
So, gonna stick with the whole general teenagers that have powers. [He gives a small shrug, but he's definitely going to do this.] And maybe mutants would feel easier joining something like that.
[She hums and just- plops back on the bed. Way more comfortable this way, and if he didn't mind her sitting next to him and reclining on it, he probably won't care if she lays on it, either.]
It's a good idea. I think... giving people somewhere to belong is really important.
[She tilts her head without picking it up off the blankets, giving him another smile.]
I'll help where I can, okay? So make sure you ask if you need it.
[He lets himself fall back against his bed, only stopping himself from spreading his arms so that he doesn't do anything embarrassing like smack Kotone in the face. Life would just be completely over if that happened, so he just keeps his arms by his side as he stares at the blank ceiling of his room. This would almost be depressing if he wasn't discussing clubs and shit with a friend.]
Yeah. Didn't think I'd be doing something like this, but.
[It feels important? It's not quite Xavier's school or anything, but it's a start.]
If I have the club master to help, I can't fuck things up too badly, right? ...But thanks. [Scott turns his head slightly to smile back at her.] And um, if you ever need me for like, anything, just uh, know I'm here.
You'll be fine. [She meets his eyes -- or his glasses, at least -- and the smile she gives him is small but warm.]
Thanks. [For not hating her, for wanting to do this, for offering to help her. For all of it. Exhaling a sigh, she lets her head fall back and closes her eyes.]
I need a nap after a conversation this serious!
[It's impossible to tell if she's serious or just trying to make him laugh.]
[HONESTLY he feels that. Enough serious conversations for today and Scott lets his eyes close from behind those shades.]
Well, that's what beds are for.
[He's not really meaning it as an invitation but also, he's not shoving her off his bed. Besides, they're like, totally joking and everything!!] Only thing I want to think about is... making a monster sandwich later.
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Didn't even sting a little? Damn.
[Death incarnation or not, his optic blasts usually do a little more than sting, but he's glad that she was able to resist them one way or another. Maybe worrying in its own way, but he doesn't view it like that.] Is Thanatos your favorite? I won't tell your other Personas.
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Thanatos isn't weak to fire, but don't worry, it still hurt a lot! It's a really powerful attack. But I've been hit by way worse.
[He probably wasn't worrying about that... unless he was? Boys are weird about how strong they are, she thinks. If Thanatos had been weak to fire, it would've been another story entirely.
Anyway. She grins with a little bit of embarrassed amusement as she tips her head toward him.]
Some of them are the jealous type. I don't know about favorite, but he is special. I guess you could say he's been part of me the longest...? Before I even really knew about my potential. He's also the only one I ever really got to know and talk to. Or like, a part of him, anyway. [First Pharos, then Thanatos, then Ryoji, then...] Avatars of death are way more complicated than you'd think.
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Taking responsibility or something like that. He's not sure if this is the way, but he'll just go with it for now.]
That's a fancy way of saying that you talk to yourself, Kotone. [He teases just lightly, his eyes crinkling behind his shades.] And I don't know, death seems like a complicated guy.
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It kind of is, huh? [Taking the teasing absolutely in stride, because yeah! He's not wrong! And it's funny when he puts it like that! But she nudges his shoulder gently.] He's... a part of me. It's really the best kind of explanation I can give. I have a lot of Personas, but Thanatos was one of the first. Him and Orpheus, anyway.
I really am glad you're okay, though. [She lets herself rest against his shoulder, just a little, as if in reassurance.] I mean that.
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He lets out a small laugh, just trying his best to take this all in stride.]
Orpheus, huh? Big fan of Greek mythology? [Maybe that's why two of her Personas are Greek based? But Scott isn't truly seeking to hear the answer to that, especially as he feels her lean against his shoulder. Oh, okay, play it cool, Summers. At least it's not hard to considering the circumstances leading to all this.]
...I'm glad too. You being okay. I know it's not the same, but. I get how scary it is to lose control of your powers and everything.
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No point mentioning the Norse gods or literal angels she has in her heart right now, or the ones who've passed through before. That's just so much to explain when she can just move on.]
Has it happened to you? [She taps close to her eye, where glasses would sit if she were wearing ones like Scott's.] Lost control of your powers, I mean.
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I... came close to really hurting him.
[He's fine throwing spitwads at him and insulting his face, but definitely no actual harming. Also, Scott can't remember if he's told this story to anyone else, maybe a couple others, but it's definitely not common. Remembering that day in his old school high is never fun, although he never liked that school to begin with. He just always thought he was a freak and guess he has an actual reason to feel that way now. Although, like at Xavier's, he's actually sort of making more friends here than he ever did in regular school.
Scott's not quite sure what that says about him, but whatever.]
For a while, I thought I'd had to keep my eyes closed for the rest of my life. Or hurt everyone around me.
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[She shrugs. Maybe her metric for "things that are cool" is kind of off compared to most people, but SEES does that to a person.]
How'd you get the glasses? I guess someone came to investigate the explosion?
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Thanks.
[Scott turns his head just slightly to look at her, smiling and appearing just a tad more upbeat.]
My older brother picked me up and brought me to Xavier's School, it's a place where we're supposed to learn and control our powers. Um, mutants, that is, that's what I'm called back home. [He should probably throw that out there.] Anyway, Professor McCoy developed these sunglasses for me so that I could finally open my eyes.
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Mutants?
[She makes a bit of a face. Maybe it's a mistranslation with the charm, but doesn't that sound kind of rude?]
Is that really what they call people like you?
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Yeah, as far as I know. [Which. Isn't much, but it's fine!!] It's because there's a mutation in our genes, err, we have something called the 'x-gene' that makes us different. Like one of my friends can teleport and another can read minds because of it.
[He gives a small shrug.]
Hey, it's fine. I mean, people are usually pretty chill with us unless they're colossal dicks. There's even a 'hero' mutant that saved the president on national television, so everything's cool. [To be young and dumb-- and okay, he's slightly aware that there's some messed up stuff happening, but they are just colossal dicks.]
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[Just "oh," because that at once explains a lot and not nearly enough. It still sounds kind of rude to her ears, but she just shrugs, taking him at his word. She's not the one to argue over semantics!
...Also the other powers sound way cooler, but she isn't going to say that. Probably. It's very hard not to say that.]
Well, that's good then! We're just called "Persona-users," [she does air-quotes with her fingers and snorts a laugh.] But we're not on TV or anything. Most people don't know anything about us. It's better that way, probably. Explaining it is a pain.
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Pretty original. [Scott snickers lightly, his smile lingering even as he prods a little more at the fact that 'Persona-users' aren't really public knowledge back where she's from.]
You really don't wanna be known to others back home? I mean, you shouldn't have to hide such a big part of yourself. [A pretty cool part of herself--]
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[Considering Mitsuru's dad and grandpa, though, it makes complete sense. She wrinkles her nose a little at the idea of being ~known~ and shakes her head. For one thing, President Tanaka had promised to make her famous as a spokesperson for his brand and the whole process sounded like hell, not to mention everything she'd heard about being a celebrity from Akechi just sounded like so much work.]
I don't really care about being famous. I'm okay if just my friends remember me! Besides, it's not really hiding. It's just that I'm not gonna summon my Personas for no reason. You know, everyone will panic, blah-blah-blah.
[She points a finger at her temple in mimicry of her usual motion with the Evoker and mimes pulling the trigger, tilting her own head sideways with the imagined impact.]
sorry for the late! got back from con
[He gives her a slightly lopsided grin, because yeah, he can imagine a teen pointing a gun to her own head to be horrifying. Fuck, he was mortified. And guess summoning giant mythological beings would cause people to panic, but is it more weird than shooting lasers from ones own eyes? Scott opens his mouth to argue, but the mutant closes it soon thereafter, a small 'hrrm' leaving him as he decides to just leave that point alone. It's not like he's constantly shooting lasers when he's walking down the street, but he's not worried about telling others that he's a mutant.
But also, he doesn't go around announcing to everyone around him that he's a mutant?? He's not sure where he's going with this.
Scott decides to just focus on the shit that's happening now and he nudges Kotone lightly with his elbow.]
So. Are there others like you here? Other Persona users?
welcome back!! and no worries i did like No Tags over the weekend lol
[At least she can joke about it! She bumps his shoulder lightly with her own when he nudges her, and while her bright smile doesn't change overmuch, the set of her eyes goes just a little bit distant.
>Lie
>Dodge the question
>Tell the truth
Maybe it's a testament to how accepting Scott had been of her that she answers at all, but she still hesitates before nodding.]
Yeah. You'll have to find them yourself, though! [The mischievous sparkle returns to her eyes a little as she laughs.] I can't give you all the answers.
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[For various reasons that don't feel entirely cool to joke about, not even to Scott. Plus, keeping the mood light sounds great, even as Scott makes a slightly disappointed noise upon hearing her answer. Really???]
Seriously? Ugh, what are the chances they're going to say 'I'm a Persona person' if I ask over the charms?
[There has to be someone like that, right?? Scott makes another groan, but honestly, he's happy for her. Glad that she's not the only Persona user in this world. Sucks feeling alone, even if there are other powered teens here. Maybe there is another mutant in this world and just doesn't want to tell Scott, which rude.]
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But she smiles up at him and shakes her head.]
Please don't, though. It's annoying to have to explain all this stuff, and people who don't know are gonna be nosy. So, are there other people like you here? With mutations?
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[Guess he'll have to do some old-fashioned snooping. It's cool, it'll be a fun sort of challenge or whatever trying to find the other Persona people. A sort of side gig to focus on when he's not worrying about his own shit-- or want to distract himself from said shit.]
No. [He shakes his head, and his mouth forms into a small pout as he thinks about the lack of mutants here. First he was normal and living a boring normal life, then he becomes a mutant but befriends others like him, and now he's back to feeling like the odd one out, despite the fact that he's talking to a girl that can summon death by shooting a gun to her head. It's just. Different.]
I mean, not that I know of. If they're hiding, I just wanna let them know it's okay.
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[She leans back on her hands and gives him a small, genuine smile.]
You're a pretty good guy. [Not just thinking about himself, but other people like him. It's nice to see someone else just trying to do their best for other people -- it makes her feel a little worse about hurting him, but she's trying not to dwell on that, so she adds,] Once I finally get the club building all finished, you could put out a call.
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Not sure if I just want to create a 'Mutant Club,' might be a little too exclusive. And that sucks.
[Because he's like 85% sure he'll be the only person in that club, which would be really sad. Plus, if there is someone hiding, they probably won't join a club that completely outs them like that.]
So, gonna stick with the whole general teenagers that have powers. [He gives a small shrug, but he's definitely going to do this.] And maybe mutants would feel easier joining something like that.
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It's a good idea. I think... giving people somewhere to belong is really important.
[She tilts her head without picking it up off the blankets, giving him another smile.]
I'll help where I can, okay? So make sure you ask if you need it.
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Yeah. Didn't think I'd be doing something like this, but.
[It feels important? It's not quite Xavier's school or anything, but it's a start.]
If I have the club master to help, I can't fuck things up too badly, right? ...But thanks. [Scott turns his head slightly to smile back at her.] And um, if you ever need me for like, anything, just uh, know I'm here.
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Thanks. [For not hating her, for wanting to do this, for offering to help her. For all of it. Exhaling a sigh, she lets her head fall back and closes her eyes.]
I need a nap after a conversation this serious!
[It's impossible to tell if she's serious or just trying to make him laugh.]
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Well, that's what beds are for.
[He's not really meaning it as an invitation but also, he's not shoving her off his bed. Besides, they're like, totally joking and everything!!] Only thing I want to think about is... making a monster sandwich later.
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just realized now that scott already said that earlier whoops
listen it's called ~consistency~ 👌 (i didn't even notice)
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