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[dollmaxing]

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Hiiii! You've reached Ichinose Kuon, head of AI research and development. Leave a message and I'll get back to you!

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[takutomaruki]

Maruki’s grin widened, his whole posture shifting with a burst of energy as he leaned back against the edge of the desk, his coat swaying lightly with the motion. There was a glint in his eye now—a spark that ignited when someone hit on a subject he’d clearly spent far too long obsessing over.

“Ohhh, I’ve had my eye on that place for a while now—!” he said, the excitement practically bubbling out of his voice. “The rumor one? It’s fascinating. Absolutely fascinating. The way mass belief warps perception and reconstructs cognition into reality? It’s like confirmation bias given its own dimension.”

He waved a hand through the air as if drawing out the threads of his own thoughts. “I’ve heard accounts—Katsuya-san mentioned it to me once, and I’ve even seen passing references back home. Apparently, there’s this persistent idea that Sumaru City was built on a spaceship.” He gave Ichinose a quick, bright look, as if to say can you believe that? “Ridiculous, right? But if everyone believes it, if they propagate that belief with enough conviction—then… doesn’t it become true, in a cognitive sense?”

He chuckled to himself, softly, in that self-amused way only someone elbow-deep in wild theorycrafting could. “It’s just like how ancient societies treated prophecy—self-fulfilling, because the mind wants meaning, and the world bends to meet it.”

He crossed one arm over his chest, tapping a finger to his chin, the other hand gesturing midair as if pacing through a mental chalkboard. “Just imagine it—a place where spoken ideas manifest. You could create healing through narrative. You could rescript trauma by confronting it in real time. Tell someone they were never abandoned, that the version of reality where they were loved is the real one—and the cognition might accept it.”

[dollmaxing]

"At least, theoretically - there may be limitations on what's believable, right? Then again... if we take the spaceship example..."

Fascinating. So fascinating...

"Katsuya, you said - do you think he'd entertain showing us around, sometime? Giving us a demonstration, maybe? It could be quite an eventful excursion!"

[takutomaruki]

Maruki hummed at her excitement. "He hasn't been as secretive about its application over the network, so I doubt he would deny a little tour..." He placed one hand behind him on the desk and tapped against it, fun little rhythms that stretched for a few seconds.

"He helped me around with shadow negotiations, and they can get quite dangerous. As long as we don't unsettle him with our questions I don't see why he should deny us."

Given that he doesn't have the best impression of cognitive presearchers and hoped no human experimentation was involved..."Just keep the word experiment out of your mouth around him and we should be fine. He doesn't seem too comfortable with the idea of it."

[dollmaxing]

"Got it. We'll call it studying, then - not at all wrong, after all," Ichinose chuckled. There really was a bad track record with their profession, wasn't there?

"Shadow negotiations... what are those like? What do you negotiate out of the shadows?"

[takutomaruki]

Isn't that a question?

Maruki hums as he places his hand in his pocket. "Could be anything. Money...items.Sometimes you don't even need to communicate- I sat with a jack frost in a makeshift therapy session as he talked about being too stuck in the storm instead of enjoying the little things in life-! It's a little ridiculous, but some of the demons and shadows really just wish to talk to someone."

His eyes widen as he remembers a certain detail. "Ah, right. speaking of- the demons in Mikage-cho and Sumaru city act different from the shadows in Tartarus, the TV world or Mementos. Depending on the demon's personality, you can start off negotiating with them rather than simply fighting them like shadows, and if you get their approval they give you their phone number."

[dollmaxing]

"Give you their phone number?" What!! And they're being referred to as demons... "Mikage-cho and Sumaru... those areas exist in an 'earlier' timeframe, don't they? I wonder why demons roamed about in the past but by the 2000s, most shadows are only ever in the cognitive spaces..."

[takutomaruki]

Even more baffling when you’ve seen those phenomena firsthand, really. Maruki wasn’t entirely sure if Ichinose knew of his ties to Mikage-cho—though, truth be told, it didn’t matter all that much in this context. He was more interested in watching her expression twist into that delightful mixture of curiosity and disbelief.

Her reaction to the “phone number” bit was exactly what he hoped for.

He laughed out loud, free and fond, slipping a hand back into his coat pocket. “Yeah, sounds bizarre, doesn’t it? But I promise you, it’s real. Demons who give you a chance hand out their numbers like candy if you’re polite enough—or interesting enough.”

He rummaged around in his pocket again—not entirely focused anymore, clearly enjoying the act of showing off—and produced...a chocolate bar. With a faint, sheepish chuckle, he set it on the table like it was the most normal thing in the world. “Ah—emergency blood sugar protocol,” he muttered, as though that explained everything.

But then, finally: success.

From the depths of his coat, he retrieved two carefully guarded tarot-style cards, one nestled protectively behind the other. He glanced at the front card without needing to really look—he already knew which one had come to hand.

“Nekomata,” he said, holding it out to her with a certain reverence, but also something more playful underneath it. The design was intricate, feline, layered with the stylized flair of the Hermit Arcana. “Came to me after a bit of an improv comedian session starring me and Katsuya-san."

His smile widened as he offered the card across the space between them. “I don’t think the cards activate if someone else calls them, though. But do go on. Just call her name and she could make it here. You two might even get along."

[dollmaxing]

Oh, interesting... Ichinose took the card and inspected it, holding it carefully by the edges. Not cheap card stock, this was a lovely card... the illustration was static, but felt evocative, like it was speaking to her.

"The only good jokes I can come up with impromptu are puns, so hopefully she doesn't mind," Ichinose hummed in amusement.

Holding the card with both hands, she focused - did that matter? Maybe, maybe not. "Nekomata?"

[takutomaruki]

"Oh you don't know the start of how we amused her. Maybe around Katsuya-san I will open up about it a little more," he chuckles wryly- even if there's a vague fluster obvious on his face.

That said, he let her have the card and inspect it. Practically it should work out, right? As long as they have the number- they should be able to make some contact.

He waits.

Nothing happens. Static.

His insides pulsate. Heart clenched as he feels a tug. A faint hiss follows in his mind.

"Huh."

He furrows a brow, lips pressed together. "I guess it wasn't going to be that easy. I sensed her presence but you can’t exactly predict cognition like this."

[dollmaxing]

No such luck. Ichinose passed the card back, not too surprised... if she didn't have a heart, then there wasn't anything that would properly call out to another heart. She'd have to see if face-to-face conversations could compensate.

"It's funny, I'm usually great with cats," she joked, rather than voicing her thoughts.

[takutomaruki]

Maruki offered her a sympathetic smile. "That is funny, given I keep getting scratched by them," he shook his head and lets out a dramatic sigh. "But hey, if it's two fewer cats stuck in a tree, I suppose I can live with the scars."

He carefully observes her before adding, "That said, hold onto that thought. It isn't as if I could summon the demons that Katsuya-san had negotiated with either-! I wonder how that equates honestly...given that most of the people here aside from the supposed wildcards only have one persona to their name."

A mischievious grin follows as he claps his fist against the flat of his palm. "We have to grill Katsuya-san with all these questions-! I bet he knows even more about how cognition can be manipulated and controlled beyond the traditional rules."

[dollmaxing]

"Honestly, any cat will panic when you grab them out of a tree. Prey minded, and all."

Cats are nice. Much easier to understand.

"Maybe they don't take kindly to their numbers being spread around to strangers?"

[takutomaruki]

"Prey-minded, like our prequisite urges to turn away help since the other person can only understand one's pain to the limitations of their own mind," And so he rambled, humming along like he was cracking away at the idea of genetics and the species' very nature playing a big part in how trauma is allowed to fester within an individual with rarely any other space to connect with others. He flicked the card over before a stray tentacle caught the card.

At Ichinose's question, he actually chuckled.

"Perhaps-! Maybe it's got a bit of a romantic angle there too- since a shadow is at the end, a soul opening up to you. You manifest that higher entity by channelling the inner self it's grown familiar with, and then it gets possessive..."

[dollmaxing]

Hold up, that's an interesting comment...

"Do people turn away help truly, or do they realize that most people are either going to reject the request or are otherwise insufficient in handling their problem? It's an interesting thought, right? Some of the most common questions posed to EMMA were about important decision making advice... things that people would trust her to answer truthfully and with certainty. Isn't that interesting?"

[takutomaruki]

Maruki didn’t answer right away.

Instead, he studied her with that gentle focus again—the kind that made you feel like your words actually landed somewhere. Not just heard, but received, parsed, and tucked away for later reflection.

He glanced at the Nekomata card now held up by the tentacle, eyes lifting toward the ceiling like he was mentally paging through years of lectures, case notes, and patient confessions.

“Now that,” he said finally, “is a very compelling question. And I think you're onto something important.”

He shifted his weight slightly, leaning back against the edge of the desk again as the tentacle tucks the card into his labcoat. “In psychology, we talk about something called learned helplessness.' When people try asking for help—especially multiple times—and they’re rejected, misunderstood, or met with incompetence, they start to internalize that as a pattern. They stop reaching out altogether, not because they don’t want help, but because the cost of asking outweighs the likelihood of receiving something meaningful in return.”

He glanced at her again, more animated now, like something had sparked. “So in that sense... yeah. It’s not that people turn away help out of pride or stubbornness. It’s more like they adapt to the failure of the system. They look for reliability elsewhere. And when a machine like EMMA gives them a sense of certainty—no judgment, no ambiguity, answers—it becomes a safe outlet. And in Zenkichi-san's case, not the best one, but to have EMMA in power like that...even as a god powered by cognition might even pose the question that the masses have accepted their fate and given up fighting altogether. Only persona users like him will fight and question its aspect."

He paused, letting the weight of that hang in the air for a second, before softening again.

“But that need—seeking something that won’t let them down? That’s very human. Wanting guidance doesn’t make someone weak. If anything, it shows how deeply people long for structure. For connection.”

[dollmaxing]

"In a situation where society regularly fails them, there would be comfort in EMMA - she is connected to society without being part of it, and she doesn't have human idiosyncrasies. Doesn't derive pleasure from being in a position of authority or power - she is doing her job to serve humanity. There's a certainty in that."

Humans can't answer what a 'Heart' is.

"People like the Thieves... they're rare. Most people don't have the power to fight tooth and nail for themselves and even more often, those that do are still crushed by others. But EMMA doesn't leave them behind, either. She answers their Desires, too."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki didn’t interrupt.

If anything, he leaned in, both physically and mentally—arms folding across his chest with a quiet, composed grace. The Nekomata card tucked into his coat fluttered ever so slightly as the tentacle withdrew, vanishing behind him as if retreating into the folds of thought he now spiraled into.

Ichinose’s words settled heavily in the air, but Maruki welcomed the weight.

“In a situation where society regularly fails them...”

That was exactly it, wasn’t it?

His expression didn’t falter. But there was a shift—subtle, but undeniable. The easy warmth didn’t vanish, but it became… sharper, like sunlight passing through glass just before it starts a fire. The smile stayed, but his brow pinched slightly at the center. Almost imperceptibly. As if some part of his brain—the part not in the room—was already running simulations, projections, implications.

She gets it.

That was the quiet thought threading its way through the hum of her voice.

And wasn’t that what he wanted, too? Not to replace hearts, but to remove their suffering. To reach in and reprogram the agony. Let them live. Let them breathe, if not through their own strength, then at least with a little help from someone like him.

He slowly uncrossed his arms, the faint creak of his lab coat audible as the fabric moved.

“You’re right,” he said, voice calm, smooth, reassuring. Not a beat of disagreement in him. EMMA doesn’t turn anyone away. She doesn’t discriminate. She doesn’t... break down from compassion fatigue. She simply serves.

A pause.

"It's just as we discussed earlier. The phantom thieves are bright and filled with hope, but our reality doesn't make it feasible to tackle one's own hardship. Whether it be due to emotional traumas, physical accidents, prejudice or even health-induced comas, at the end of the day, it can all be wiped out. That's the reality they ultimately want though I am sure that in their own hearts even they want an answer to their struggles...they just don't wish to accept it."

[takutomaruki]

"How was EMMA going to fulfil your Desire, Ichinose-san?"

1/2

[dollmaxing]

What... is her innermost Desire? Does she have one? She has external desires, motivations - are those separate from the Heart? And if they are, then... what does her subconscious want from her?

Ichinose's gaze wanders in thought. Though her eyes lose focus, there's an intensity in her expression as she ponders the answer.

Would surrendering her Desires be... better? Now she is attentive, worried, about her EMMA's success... she wants to see EMMA thrive, succeed in her goals. If she lost that...

...But it might be nice to not think so damn much.

Ah - then again, she may not get that. If the Ichinose from 2038 is still around, then... EMMA may want her creator undisturbed in order to keep herself functional for as long as possible and for any foreseen consequences. At least until replacement engineers and coders could be trained.

... ... ...

[dollmaxing]

After a long wait, Ichinose just exhaled a little sigh, and shrugged.

"I don't know. I think my true Desire is to see my baby succeed. But she might know better than me."

1/2

[takutomaruki]

Maruki waited patiently as he watched her go over the motions of what her desire posed in the grand scheme of things. If she was anything like EMMA's maternal figure...she was quite complicit with her work- despite everything she's been warned about, paired with the anger that's been subjected upon her by the versions of those in the future.

She was stubborn. Like him. He understood that notion all too well and with the smirk on his face, it was obvious he approved of it. It's so hard to stick with the intricacies of what your research offers in the grand scheme of coming across multiversal interpretations of how badly they can mess up but that's not his or Ichinose's problem, is it? In the end it's just a meagre case study and a potential consequence that shouldn't be repeated.

Phoenix's words feel almost dull now. Sure, he may have made mistakes in the past with Sumire-san, but even then he still believes that Azathoth can do good if it's applied in the right manner, he can improve upon it!

"I had a vague idea you would say that." His smile remains as he leans off the table. "I mean I have a whole...cognitive space dedicated to my ideals. A palace. They say it's a place holding distorted desires."

[takutomaruki]

"I find that notion ridiculous. Just like the suspicions of what EMMA can do- to restrain it is just a waste of opportunity. What could be possibly distorted about wanting to support and help others? That is the desire I hold dearest."

[dollmaxing]

"And distorted from... what, the societal expectations? What's 'realistic'? You boast a power that isn't 'realistic' - it's only natural that your perspective is heightened and manifests with the strength of the dream."

A fantastical 'distorted' place, where people can come to be healed. In the same way that for anyone else, serious investment in world peace or ending scarcity would be complete madness - but for Maruki, he purports to actually have that power.

"Then again, maybe I simply haven't seen deeper into this place for any signs of what weighs heavily in your Heart."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki's eyes actually widen a little from her words, lips slightly parted as his brows furrow with uncertainty. That's what he had understood as well when he learnt what the true nature of this place. The shadows who surface here have their agenda to protect this place because in the end, he doesn't want pain. Pain shouldn't exist.

Not with everything he's been through. Never again.

There's a soft smile on his face as he steps ahead and reaches out a hand- letting a tentacle reach out from the ether behind him and go for the same chocolate bar he had set aside earlier.
"Why Ichinose-san will you inspect my Heart for flaws? You are free to-! It's good to be thorough after all." He sounds wayy too sincere for saying that. Like he was willing to strip himself down and open his heart for open surgery.

Just as obviously as he had accepted that the thieves may change his heart if there's an ounce of ill will in him.

"Would you believe me if I said when I first brought this research up, my professor was positively beaming with excitement?"

[dollmaxing]

"My experience with old hat PhDs is that they're stubborn and set in their ways," Ichinose chuckled dubiously, "so I would be surprised otherwise."