Inbox & In-person meetups

[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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2/2

[unit_8910_wolf]

The doors of the IT room open with a faint hiss, a heavy sigh following its onslaught with a card flicking on gloved fingers. Wolf stared down at the ID, walking past the threshold to step into a room filled with computers and display screens taking over the entirety of the four walls as he adjusts the greatsword on his shoulder in his other hand.

It's quiet. Security's lower than usual and there are CCTVs everywhere. There's no way the palace owner isn't watching him right now and he hasn't confronted him yet- not physically even after he shot down one of the cognitive clerks when the shadow told him to shed his weapons if he wants to meet him.

It's alright- it's not like he is actually in a rush.

His eyes dart over the myriad of devices, CPUs and data centres placed on other various corners of the room. He spots a small pillar display with a ball of glass hovering above it- holding a brain with wires and electrodes lining soft muscle.

Rolling his eyes behind his visor, the sword evaporates into ether and he steps into view, lips pulled in a straight line as he regards Ichinose. There's still hints of shadow gunk clinging to his clothing while he pauses, one hand resting on his pistol but not in an attempt to raise it, but to reassure.

"Took me a damn good while to find you again, Ichinose," he comments rather casually. "Can't seem to find his shadow though...wonder what the hell that means."

[dollmaxing]

"Her influence is unprecedented. If you could simply dismantle the thing, we would have dropped five nukes on it and called it a day."

That spoke a lot of EMMA in their world. The idea of Japan, of all places, desperate enough to resort to the nuclear option... and while that made Ichinose's stomach twist a bit in dread...

...There was a little spark of pride she felt. No wonder the other Ichinose stood by her creation.

She's pulled from her thoughts by the door opening, and the clench of dread in her chest tightened, even if she didn't emote any of it. Sword gone, but gun still on the hip, fresh from murdering the shadows guarding this place... not reassuring, but Takuto won't let anything happen to her. Either of them might notice a subtly shaky exhale, like she'd been holding her breath, but she stays calm and stable enough to pluck a kitsukatsu from the bag and extend it to Hasegawa as she had planned.

"I have two theories on that front," she explained, responding to his question instead of commenting on the offered sweet, "There are dungeons, Palaces and other structures in this place that are memories and don't currently have their originating Shadow in place. This could be the memory of a Palace belonging to Maruki, and it's simply responding to the presence of one, and any Maruki might be able to arrive and have this place respond to him as well if the distortions match. My other thought is simply that a Shadow would not exist if someone has a Persona, which Maruki does. It could be a combination of both possibilities, as well."

1/2

[unit_8910_wolf]

Zenkichi stared down at the bag extended to him. His expression remained even still, not letting himself give away his annoyance because the last thing he needs right now is to see this woman get triggered and do something more stupid with any of the other broken people in this world. He's learning restraint...it's the only way to make sure he keeps her on her toes.

He makes note of Ichinose's theory. In truth, Zenkichi hadn't seen any palaces in question. From what he's read about one's heart being changed through the means of a calling card (whatever the hell that means) who'sto say palaces didn't linger. The TV dungeons, however, lingered like jails.

"You really call that thing a persona...? Then again, maybe I am not the right person to judge that," he muttered before rolling his eyes at the fact that Ichinose still had the snacks out. The multiverse sure had its way of boggling his mind, given there were way too many possibilities to keep up with the changes.

"This cognitive mumbo jumbo always gives me a headache, I swear." He inquisitively glances at the snacks in suspicion before looking back up at Ichinose.

2/2

[unit_8910_wolf]

So weird.

"Are you seriously trying to bribe me right now?"

[dollmaxing]

"It's just candy," Ichinose chuckled, shaking the bag a little. Everything inside was still sealed...

"It's a limited flavor from the cherry blossom week! Cherry blossom and sake. It's tasty."

[takutomaruki]

The night was still young, and the chill in the air lingered despite summer peering its way into the green trees, the sweltering air, the sudden increase of ice popsicles in small shops and midnight stalls, paired with the whistle of a cicada distinctly coming from the nearby park. Maruki adjusted his dark blue dress-shirt, folding the sleeves up to his elbows to allow for a more casual look with hair just brushed in the right manner.

"I know Morning said he was alright with it, but it still worries me, I guess?" He lightly chuckled, concealing his hidden anxiety of leaving Akira alone. Even indulging himself in matters such as this felt unprecedented due to his current role, but with the weather clearing up, he was coming across many fun advertisements of restaurants opening up in Ebisuminami. This strip in particular, one narrow path with heavy bushes on the left that opened up to a view of tall buildings, felt especially serene at night. He smiled at the myriad of cognitions out and about, and stopped closely before Ichinose if they did stop anywhere.

As of now, the options were plenty, and his mood was set still. "Not that I am saying I am not enjoying our time right now! I think I need even more of a distraction than I had originally predicted."

[dollmaxing]

"Oh, he'll be fine - I told him that if he gets too lonely, he should bother that Hamuko girl. I'm sure she wouldn't care about a last minute visit or phone call from someone whose birthday party she attended," Ichinose shrugged, not remotely worried about Morning. Infantile though his behavior was, at times, he was still almost an adult and ought to know how to not get himself in trouble or burn the apartment down while the two of them were gone.

"A change in scenery and routine - always important to keep the mind sharp, right? Gotta stimulate it with new experiences or it'll get dull and lose plasticity."

[takutomaruki]

"Ohh, good call there," he nods approvingly at Kuon's suggestion to involve Hamuko more. There's not much he could provide for her yet without sending red flares everywhere in this place...for now if his little group of friends could provide her some sort of companionship- there would be nothing less he would wish for.

He smiles wistfully at Kuon's comment. "In all honesty the start of this year itself kept me a lot on my toes but otherwise...this place doesn't really provide that in the long run. Without actual guests, interacting with other cognitions would always be a bit dull. Due to their lack of perception or push back."

"...I haven't gone out in a while with a friend like this. Like I mentioned before- I recently went to some of Shujin's drinking parties but never really for the sake of just because."

[dollmaxing]

"This is the first time I'm actually excited to go out and talk 'business', aka projects, with someone. I hope you're ready to have your ear completely talked off, because I don't know how to stop once I've got a little sake and tasty food in me," she grinned, the slight sound of her keys being fiddled with coming from her, since her hands were in her pockets as she walked.

"Plus, I want some of the details of this bot to be a surprise for Morning. He said he wanted a big sister - I reminded him that he'll technically be the big brother! Haha! But that'll be great - when they aren't defending me, they can easily take up keeping an eye on Morning to make sure he's not getting into trouble."

[takutomaruki]

"Oh no- I am excited for this. It's a test of our skills and knowledge, is it not? The idea of playing off of cognition and creating something new- something that would do good rather than harm which is much easily inflicted is what makes this field fascinating."

The smile on his face is true and real. It's a thought and sentiment that feels real beyond papers and right, no matter how theoretical he were the topic, if he didn't even implement it- then what good was he even for? The world didn't simply bend to good-will and he's seen first hand how people would much rather run after pain as is.

"I have been noticing that tendency of his. The need to be taken care of- even the Akira in my world had suffered with an unfair reputation and was victim to Shujin's isolation."

He shook his head, prying himself off of that matter.

"I suppose a bar would only make us run on empty stomach. I read about many sushi places opening up here...maybe we can catch up on what we missed out on from the party. What do you say?"

[dollmaxing]

"I can pig out on free gourmet sushi any time," Ichinose chuckled proudly. "Let's go to Ginza! There should be some space to sit and take notes on paper - nothing digital with the stalkers peeking at my phone unfortunately."

[unit_8910_wolf]

Sealed huh...that does feel less suspicious but with a guy around who can simply create things on the go without much of a sweat, it was only momentary.

He sighs and relents since she can't seem to take the hint that he's not interested. Even if the flavours she mentioned did sound tasty. Wordlessly, he holds his hand up and snatches the whole bag- staring at its inside with the LED mounted on his forehead blinking, as if it were scanning the bag of snacks Ichinose was having.

No bomb. No funny stuff.

He takes one and hands the rest of the pack over. "Soo hospitable," he rolls his eyes and pockets the candy in his back pocket. "When did Maruki tell you I was coming here?"

[dollmaxing]

"He let me know when you came through the front doors, of course," she replied, not bothered that he yanked the whole bag from her. First steps in building a positive association.

"If he hadn't I would've run for the hills."

[unit_8910_wolf]

"Damn...then again, the place is crawling with CCTV cameras so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," he shrugs neutrally at the explanation while looking at the other top corner of the room. There's a CCTV right there...he could shoot it but man she would get so dramatic about it, wouldn't she? Miss heartless doll here would actually have a genuine reaction for once, go figure.

That said- good call for not lying.

Why is she so stingy and terrified of him anyway? She has Maruki's protection. He's in her territory; if anything, he should be the one terrified.

"Uhh...I wasn't planning to attack you," he tries and removes his hat, tossing it over on the table next to Ichinose's computer. He scratches the back of his head and looks around. "Akane, what are the updates?"

The AI sighs as she can already make out the tracker attached to the hat. It was microscopic, even the size of a small nail's depth. He's probably going to place it when he goes to retrieve his hat.

"Her program just eviscerated the beta version, so she's ready for the real deal. Even the Maruki in our world managed to make it this far, right? With the others."

"Not like he's that proficient with computers," he sighs as turns to glance back at Kuon.

"Is he, actually?"

[dollmaxing]

"I can't read your mind, I don't know that," Ichinose rebuffed, but left her objection there at least. She rolled her chair to the side a bit so he could look into the screen, even though he was likely wirelessly connected and watching anyway.

"I asked him to conjure a computer based on what he knows - the cognitive PC he gave me was almost completely jam packed with circuit boards, wires and strange black boxes that it hardly had room for a fan. It was funny - is that really the layman's assumption of how a PC tower is built? I suppose it doesn't matter quite so much since it's cognition, so it works as expected like any other computer in here besides what I've picked up."

[takutomaruki]

"Oh right, stalkers," he chuckles- looking around. "Honestly, not as awful of a place to distract them if they did show up, remember how Hasegawa-san seemed intent on inhaling all the sushis there. We might just have found the perfect trap."

They finally do stop before a restaurant as he keeps a close-eye at it.

"Lo and behold! Gourmet sushi," he grins at Kuon. "You spoke of it and it manifested. The greatest power of cognition. Now we can just hope we get some paper...or maybe we can use tissue paper! They are available in plenty."

[dollmaxing]

"Or receipt paper! Or that journal you keep - we could scribble notes in the back so I don't peek at the rest of your notes," Ichinose proposed, entering the restaurant. Ahh... it smelled fresh and pleasant in here.

"Oh, and we are definitely going to get sake in here."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki blushed a little at the mention of his journal. Others picking up on his little hobbies wasn’t unheard of, but it still caught him off guard.

"The Hasegawas sure don't last a second against us," he chuckles at the notion of it but really they had an idea, they had a plan. Adjusting his hair a little over his eyes, he followed behind her and closed the sliding door. ..nevermind coziness this place looked like you needed reservations to get in here, paired with its belt filled with variety of sushis lined up and ready to go.

"You need to keep me in check for all the alcohol intake," he sighs as he gestures for her as they grab a table at the side. The place seemed busy with some empty tables only here and there on rare occasions.

"Still- I suppose no harm in getting a few drinks. Oh, thank you-!" he thanks the waiter with a little smile who appears with a little menu card.
Ah, this vaguely reminded him of his recent hang out with Hamuko.

The mention of dad and daughter...he snickers at the fond memory of it.

[dollmaxing]

Nevermind the belt - Ichinose led Maruki to a seat overseeing the sushi chef himself diligently cutting and assembling artfully done nigiri. While it's free, may as well enjoy the fancy stuff.

After waving down for some sake as well, Ichinose settled in, looking pleased as punch.

"So - first thought is, they should look like a charming normal teenager," she explained, resting her chin on her hand, "As a sibling for Morning, but also so they have an easy time making friends, since almost everyone here is under eighteen."

[takutomaruki]

Getting right to it, Maruki easily found himself focusing on the topic right away as well. It was easy to get down to and while he didn’t mind small talk here and there he definitely didn't mind the direction this converted took.

"Adults aren't seen in the best of light anyway so an approach with a teenager would make sense," he nods. "We could even deliver variables such as curiosity and the sense to explore and adjust to outside stimuli, they would not only be a motivation for them to make other friends but also for them to reach out to others too."

"Are we particularly thinking of an avatar or would their body still be driven like usual human cognition? I don’t know if it matters in the grand scheme or not- given its existence, if things go according to plan remain on the middle ground."

[dollmaxing]

"Well, you're wanting to make it easier to 'realize' one of the cognitive people here, right? We'll want to make them in a way that if we were to leave this place with them, they would be 'real' in the material world, I think."

Digital is just the usual par for the course, after all. She's done that several times.

"The Shadow Weapon robots around here... I think that's a good source of inspiration, since they don't solely exist in a cognitive space. Though if we armed this one, I think Wolf would quite literally tear me apart limb from limb - it's not really relevant for our goals anyway."

[unit_8910_wolf]

Zenkichi was getting clear updates about what was happening on the screen, given Akane’s surveillance.

Really he doesn't find any reason to come here in person. He could do this digitally and yet, his old heart can't bear it without being there.

Also it was too early to call back on it. If Ichinose pulled some shit with Akane, her safety was his top priority.

"...yeah, sounds like him, alright," he muttered- hesitantly staring off into the distance. "...do you have the past monarchs and their testing data, Akane?"

"Yepp..!" she chirps behind the screen. "We should be able to simulate EMMA through my parent code, then use the usual name and keyword."

"You've monitored a dead monarch's situation before, right? Like Okinawa?" He glances back at her, daring her to lie to his face. He's seen the records between Futaba and her, monitoring their encrypted emails.

[takutomaruki]

Maruki chuckles. "Oh my intentions have always been to make a physical appearance- I was more so talking functionality wise. We could attempt to make a stationary model first- see how long it persists and add additional functionality as we go."

"As for Wolf-san, I respect him being an exceptional fighter but I can tell he has a soft spot for children," he shrugs. "Not that I am saying an adolescent design should be intentional but its an additional factor to keep in mind."

He decides to draw first blood by grabbing the tissue paper hanging off the dispenser, setting it down on the table before pulling his pen out as well- already doodling a small sort of humanoid body, just with no legs. Two cylinders drawn on either side- depicting hands.

"I was theorizing on the matters of not upsetting the Hasegawas, we would need to consider debuff spells and spell-reflective walls in mind. There are items that help in reflecting both physical as well as magical attacks which I should probably find and give it to both you and Morning. If I could study it, its possible I can replicate their use."

"What do you say?"

[dollmaxing]

Tapping the bugged phone, her original phone, Ichinose nodded. "I still have access to that data from the Thieves, even, and that can be used to compare."

She hadn't been able to actively track the situation in progress the way she did the other Monarchs, thanks to the security and secrecy of the lab in Okinawa, but she now had the backlog of information available to her anyway.

"Is there something in particular that a dead Monarch's Jail has that you find interesting?"

[dollmaxing]

"Mm, yes, and ways to nullify damage for oneself and for your charge. And make their own structure nice and sturdy! Won't really be necessary for future projects, but for this little one, it'd ease everyone's anxieties if they weren't easily harmed."

Ichinose pat at her pockets before finding her pen in her back pocket, uncapping it and doodling a little... antenna? Something? On their head.

"And while an internal sensory system is fine, I think robots with little antennas or something are really cute - and we can make it more sensitive to anticipate signs of danger like the presence of shadows or something accelerating towards them," she explained, humming in delight. "Maybe it could look really cute like a piece of jewelry or some other accessory. I dunno, an antenna just sounds really cute."