Mosaic City, located along China's coast, is quite large city sometimes called the Crossroads Between Nations due to its diverse population. While it was once a large tourist spot, the city was placed under a blockade as the military appeared claiming there was a radiation leak. The true hazard, however, is much more sinister.
Well, if it wouldn't be widely seen, that would be fine, probably. In that case, chances are most of the people who would look through it were either other Persona users or people who wouldn't think anything about the bizarrely designed monsters or apocalyptic landscapes. As for the less wholesome art...
"Yes, I've met some...very strange people playing online," Pyxis said. Yes, that made sense. It was hard to know if people liked 'deviant' work, but at the same time it was hard to cast it in doubt when it was posted on the internet. More interesting was what else Alisa had said. "Really? All of this came from your mind?" she asked. "Given what you've told me though, I'm not sure if I should be surprised or not."
It could be noted that, while she was skimming over most of the bloodier work, Pyxis was still looking through the page with interest.
Post by Ayakura Alisa on Apr 5, 2014 2:45:03 GMT -5
"The people you meet online tend to be a peculiar bunch," I said idly. "And yeah, all of this came from my mind, I find that when I'm kind of in turmoil I tend to put out some pretty morbid and disturbing stuff." I added, stretching and looking around for a drink. "I've got issues. Though, that said, you still seem to be surfing through my collection of stranger works. Still curious to see what depraved human minds could come up with? Haha. Oh, by the way, Pyxis, is there anything to drink around here? All this talking's gotten me a little thirsty." My throat was getting dry, but it was getting increasingly pleasant to hang around with Pyxis in her apartment even if it was a bit on the strange side.
So Alisa drew things like this when she was 'in turmoil'. Pyxis could think of a few things that would lead to such a situation, and...well, it was certainly better than trying to make the bloodier pictures on the page a reality. And...that may have been the point. Channeling that kind of mindset into something more productive, even if it would still be considered disturbing to anyone else. Then, Alisa addressed the fact that Pyxis was still looking. "A little bit," Pyxis answered, not breaking from her browsing. "It's interesting, in an odd way. Normally when I hear someone talk about the darker side of humanity, so to speak, it involves criminal activity. But this is something different."
Then she glanced up as Alisa asked for something to drink. "Yeah, I've got a few things in the fridge. I've learned to stock a few things for whenever I get visitors. Wouldn't want any of my colleagues to get cranky after all." She laughed. "Just look in the fridge there and help yourself. I certainly don't need any of it." Most of what was in the fridge was just bottled water, but she had also stocked a small selection of sodas, juices, and beers by request.
Post by Ayakura Alisa on Apr 5, 2014 22:16:16 GMT -5
Pyxis simply answered that she was a little bit curious, still. "This is different. It's an outlet. Though I guess from the more violent stuff I've done it's pretty obvious that it's an outlet for me. I don't think anybody would have appreciated me murdering people outright, and with my training, that's a big possibility," I said as I stood up and went for the fridge that Pyxis soon thereafter pointed out, saying she learned to have some stuff up for offer whenever she got visitors. I wonder, if someone she didn't want knowing she was a robot came over, how would she hide all this stuff? I looked through the fridge and got me some apple juice, taking it and quickly starting on it, though I didn't down all of it in just a few seconds.
"Thanks," I said, bowing towards Pyxis even if I wasn't sure if she saw it or not. "Humans are complicated creatures. Just in general. Though I think I may have already said that; it bears repeating. That's why people love studying people so much. Human nature is a mystery! I wonder what I'd be like if I were just like you."
Pyxis finally glanced away as Alisa got up and went for the fridge. She was just about at the end of the gallery anyway. "Yes, I...imagine that would cause trouble," she answered. From what she'd said, Pyxis could imagine Alisa snapping someone's neck with little effort if she really put her mind to it. Having an outlet like that could only be a good thing, even if she would probably get some weird looks from anyone else who happened to see her art in person.
She nodded back to Alisa as she bowed. "Yes, I noticed that humans like studying other humans as well. In a more academic sense, I guess, but even so." She shrugged, then laughed as Alisa wondered out loud what she'd be like if she was like Pyxis. "Well, you would probably have built-in stalking equipment. Maybe something so that you move silently, or active camouflage, or something like that. Maybe a wrist-mounted blade, too, for quick and subtle kills. ...Although, that would just be if you were an Anti-Shadow Weapon. If you were more specifically like me you'd probably also have the maid uniform."
Post by Ayakura Alisa on Apr 5, 2014 23:50:05 GMT -5
Sipping from my apple juice, I blinked. "So, a ninja robot," I said jokingly. "Just like in my comics and video games. Hah..." I stretched and soon Pyxis mentioned that if I were more specifically like her, I would also be in the maid uniform. Suddenly, I recalled Ran's brief but informative explanation on cosplay. At least, part of it. "A maid uniform, huh? Apparently, some people call wearing costumes like that as 'cosplay,' costume play, you know? That might be why some people were interested in your outfit, as I alluded to in our very first meeting," I spoke once more, suddenly getting into this. "That would be funny, if I fought alongside you also wearing a maid uniform. Huh."
"Sure. A ninja robot," Pyxis said. "It'd be fine, ninjas are really popular." Alisa then responded to the maid uniform comment with a brief explanation of 'cosplay', and mentioned how people had been 'interested' in the outfit before their first meeting. "Costume...play?" Pyxis repeated, trying to make sense of the phrase. Costume...play...was it considered a game? Or some kind of performance? That was another strange aspect of humanity, then.
When Alisa mentioned fighting alongside her in a maid uniform, though, Pyxis's face lit up. "Do you want to try one on?" Pyxis asked. "I got a few spares after the old one got so torn up. I could let you borrow one."
Post by Ayakura Alisa on Apr 6, 2014 0:50:16 GMT -5
Pyxis seemed to be a little more perky when I mentioned the prospect of fighting alongside her in a similar maid uniform. That would be a little silly, I admit. But would it be stylish? Who knows. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try, right? Who knows, a new style never hurt anybody..." I said simply, letting Pyxis basically know I was up for giving the whole shebang a shot. "As for 'costume play,' it's the act of people who attempt to get into costumes of their favourite fictional character or figure, or even non-fictional celebrity. Whether they want to pretend to be like them or just feel they would look good as them. It's become a sub-culture of humans into anime and manga and video games in and of itself. I had to study it when I was doing an article for a news company that hired me a couple of months ago. I conducted some interviews on it."
"I hope you don't mind me filching the spare, though."
Pyxis hopped up as Alisa said she was up for trying and made her way into the bedroom. She listened in as Alisa further explained 'costume play', realizing after a few seconds that she'd heard something similar before. "Actually, I think my anime-obsessed colleague mentioned something like that before," she said from the other room. "He didn't go into too much detail, just mentioned doing it for a convention or something like that recently. It sounds interesting."
And then she was back, holding a maid uniform that looked much like Pyxis's old one from before it got all torn up. She presented it to Alisa. "Here you go. I don't mind if you keep it, but you're on your own if you end up messing it up. Feel free to use the bedroom to change if you want, just don't mess with anything in there."
Post by Ayakura Alisa on Apr 6, 2014 2:16:57 GMT -5
Pyxis made her way into her bedroom and mentioned from afar that she had an anime-obsessed colleague that mentioned something like it before, and said it sounded interesting. Aside from that, I couldn't wean out her true opinion about it. Soon enough, she procured a uniform that much looked like her old one from before it got all turn up and ruined. Soon, she passed it over to me and mentioned she didn't mind if I kept it, but I had to take care of it myself. Fortunately, I could do some minor sewing repairs if I had to, mostly my mother teaching me how to sew some stuff in case it got ripped in the middle of a mission.
I moved over to the bedroom myself to change. Under Pyxis' rules, I was told not to mess with anything there. But the only thing remotely "messable" was the strange pod-like machine. The bed with the sheets that were somewhat unused hinted me to the fact Pyxis probably used that machine as a charging mechanism to re-energize herself instead. Yes, I definitely wouldn't want to touch that with a 10ft-pole, at least until I knew how it worked. I made sure it was safe to change before I removed what I was currently wearing, and then changing into the maid uniform.
Somewhat dark blue, with the quintessential maid apron and maid headband. Of note was the red ribbon just beneath the collar. I stepped outside dressed in Pyxis' maid uniform, a spare set that was, after I left my old clothes on the unused bed.
As Alisa ducked into the bedroom and got changed, Pyxis went back through the computer to look through the rest of the art page. She turned up the sensitivity on her hearing just a little bit, just to make sure that if anything went wrong, she would hear it immediately. Anything like...messing with the charging pod and causing it to do something it wasn't supposed to. Like closing on Alisa's hand. That didn't seem particularly likely, but given that her handlers had only ever operated it remotely before Pyxis was given the information and ability to do so herself, she wasn't actually sure what would happen if a human started messing around with it.
Which was exactly why she had told Alisa not to.
Conveniently enough, no such accidents happened. Meanwhile, Pyxis finished and closed out of the art page just in time for the bedroom door to open again, and for Alisa to show herself in the uniform that Pyxis had provided. She...had to admit that it looked very nice on her. It was a bit strange, seeing her own signature garment on someone else, but not in a bad way. Pyxis looked Alisa over one more time, and smiled. "I like it. It really suits you," she said.
Post by Ayakura Alisa on Apr 6, 2014 10:05:54 GMT -5
I found myself blushing slightly as Pyxis looked me over, and smiled, saying that it really suited me. I don't really know what exactly that implied, but if that was the case, I would try an experiment and see how people would react if I wore this uniform out to combat situations. It would be a laugh to say the least. "I'm glad you think so," I said, playfully curtseying and smiling softly. "Can I really keep one of these? It would be amusing for me to try these on in an actual battle setting, or just... in general, honestly. I'm curious to see people's reactions to this." I laughed softly.
"Yes. This feels more comfortable and nicer than I initially expected."
"Mm-hm." Pyxis nodded. "I've got a few sets now, so I'm not worried about giving away one. Heck, I still wear the old one occasionally. Call it sentiment. Just...maybe you should make sure you can fight comfortably in it before wearing it to anything big." It would be a problem if Alisa wore it during the next full moon and found that it was harder to move in than she thought, after all. "I'm curious how people will react too, though."
Then, Alisa mentioned that the uniform was more comfortable than expected. "Surprised? I do actually have a sense of touch, even if it isn't quite as advanced as a human's. I'd hate to wear something uncomfortable into battle."
Post by Ayakura Alisa on Apr 7, 2014 3:43:16 GMT -5
Playfully curtseying and twirling around like a small, silly child, I laughed. "Oh, you have no idea what kind of training I've had," I said, smiling at Pyxis. "I've been trained to fight in the strangest conditions, from balancing several objects on my head to wearing the most bizarre outfits. My mother used to tell me that good fighters were able to adapt to the battle even in the harshest of conditions. I think I'll be fine," I continued, stretching and moving about a little in the outfit to get a feel for it. Soon, Pyxis mentioned that she had a sense of touch even if it wasn't quite as advanced as a humans.
"I do see that they must have expended much effort and resources into building you up to be able to blend in with human society. If not for the tell-tale sign from our first meeting, I would have suspected that you were really just a highly sensitive human!"
Pyxis laughed as well. "Okay, okay, sorry for underestimating you again," she said, not particularly serious. Yeah, maybe she needed to stop doing that. Although...balancing objects on her head? How else had she learned to fight? While juggling? While riding a skateboard? While holding a sake dish in one hand and taking care to not spill anything? ...Actually, Pyxis won't mind seeing some of those. Just to see if it could be done, and not at all because she'd seen them in video games. No way.
After Alisa moved around a bit to get a feel for the uniform, she commented on the effort that went into making Pyxis human-like. "It's more than just blending in," Pyxis answered. "The closer we are to being human-like the easier it is for us to awaken a Persona. Otherwise I'm sure we'd all just be made to be tanks or something. Plus, having a sense of touch helps us to gather data and to assess situations during battle. Although sometimes I kind of wish I was able to turn the ability to feel pain off." Her expression darkened as she said the last part, but only for a second before returning to normal. "As for our first meeting, I'm sure you would have found out sooner or later. The finger guns are a dead giveaway."