"Shakespeare and Co." Bookstore (Open! Come get a book rec!)

[Ayakura Alisa]

Feebs approached me and asked for my name. Of course. "The name's Alisa. Alisa Ayakura, owner of the Ayakura Information Network," I nodded, noticing the fact she fumbled with her apron. First she asked me if I ever heard of the term Persona and had to remind me like I didn't already know what she meant that she meant the Other Self as opposed to a psychological theory of a certain Jung. Shax apparently heard something funny, though. Being blunt is one way to describe that mental quip, heh. But we've got this in the bag, folks. I noticed that she started to fluster a little. "Yeah, I've heard of it. And I certainly know what you mean. You probably don't want to know about the little voice in my head that's been commenting about the little voice in your head. Oh, wait. Oops," I chuckled. That was uncalled for, ma'am. Whatever happened to the oath of secrecy? We had one of those? I'm just messing with you.

Then, she moved on to inquire about the cemetery incident. Hooooboy. "Yeah, there sure was. Regular people like your friend there wouldn't suspect a thing. Living shadow... Yeah, that's what it was, except it was more like a giant thing that tried to cosplay the Grim Reaper. Admittedly, I hadn't awakened to my Other Self at the time, but I had already inhaled the Shadow-infested airs of the outer perimeter," I continued, keeping my voice low so it wouldn't be very obvious. "Indeed, we call them 'Shadows,' they're the manifestations of... ...something I'm still researching. They take up shapes of things Humankind recognizes or is at least cognizant of, so I can safely tell you that you shouldn't be surprised if you saw, say, a demonic car,"

I sipped the delicious peppermint coffee, a little sad to see I was getting close to finishing it. "The issue at hand is that there isn't a radiation leak. We've been sealed in an illusory boundary that aims to keep a stranglehold over the city. An acquaintance of mine has come up with a theory that the Shadows attempt to choke out all the Persona-users in the city, eliminate them, and then lay waste on this Mosaic City to use as their home base. Of course, I can't back that claim up without substantial evidence, but I'm looking into it. Is there anything else you'd like me to address?"

[Phoebe Minola]

"It's nice to meet you, Alisa," she said sheepishly and held out her hand.

Then she listened. She had to because really, there wasn't much else she could do. Any other time in her life she might've dismissed all this as utter nonsense but now... now things were different. There were certain realities that'd made themselves wonderfully and dangerously apparent and she wasn't going to sit back and steep in denial.

Then she looked up quickly at Alisa. "Voice? C-Commenting? Oh! You have a...!" She stopped herself just short of blurting the word out and just stared in awe.

I was wondering when you'd notice.

You knew?! Why didn't you tell me!?

Phoebe could imagine Antiope blinking at her calmly. You didn't ask.

She listened quietly at the description of what happened in the cemetery and about the Shadows. "I see," she said and touched her chin thoughtfully. "Yes. I suppose this all makes sense now. The whole 'radiation leak' story always felt off but I never had any reason to doubt it. Not until I got my Persona," she said quietly. "Then it was like a veil was pulled off my eyes. Everything feels wrong suddenly."

She balled her fists in determination. "If what you say is true then... then we have to do something. We're essentially trapped in the city with no way out. We're... we're cattle! Especially people that don't have a Persona. Just... cattle in a pen!"

Her indignation flared suddenly as she realized what she was saying. They were trapped. But why would the military lie? Unless they didn't know... or wanted to avoid a mass panic? No, it was something else. People would find out. Why hadn't anyone noticed? Could it be that these Shadows somehow obfuscated the truth of their situation? She shivered at the thought.

Well, what will you do, then?

I'm scared.

I would be concerned if you were not. But what will you do?

...I'm going to fight.

Her voice was warm. I know. That is why I came when you called.

"Um... there's one last thing. I...I can't sit on my thumbs while this is going on. Since I've got a Persona," she said quietly. "And although I'm probably dreadfully new at this I... I wanna help. Any little thing I can do. I'm a bit of a ditz when it comes to initiative but I couldn't just sit back and ignore this. I'm sure I could do something. I already fought two of these Shadows in the Terminal. I could probably do it again if I had to. Would it be okay if... uh, we kept in contact? Just in case. I could help if you needed support or something."

She had managed not to sound completely freaked. Just awkward.

You declare war on Shadows...yet regular conversation still daunts you.

Oh stop it!

[Ayakura Alisa]

I shook Feebs' hand as she held it out, a firm handshake was best for this. At least the woman's mind was sharper than she seemed. That's not very nice, Shax. Well, it's true. And it seemed that from her account it appeared that indeed the masses were for the most part, relatively accepting of their current predicament. It was then and there she said that 'we were cattle' and essentially exclaimed in her indignation that they were trapped. Well, no shit we were trapped. Does she think the military were lying? Or does she not really know the truth behind THAT? I fidgeted and sighed after I had inadvertently let her on a proverbial soapbox. Then, she elaborated on her thoughts a bit, saying that she wanted to help. She wanted to do something and said she wanted to fight. Great, she wants to join us in our quest for mortal combat against the dreaded Shadow race. You should keep in contact with her, sister.

"Well... firstly, if I must say something, it's definitely possible that the 'military' or whatever law enforcement existed were probably in cahoots with the Shadows. Probably. I'm still trying to find conclusive proof. Secondly, you should probably keep yourself calm and steeled first or you might get into an accident. Lastly, we can keep in contact for as long as you need. Here's my card." I procured, from my jacket, a business card containing my contact details - email and phone numbers, including links to my website and the Ayakura Information Network.

Is it just me or is she in a world of her own sometimes? Yeah, just maybe a little.

[Phoebe Minola]

The idea that the 'military' were in cahoots with the Shadows alarmed her. She admitted to herself that the thought had occurred to her but she'd dismissed it because it just sounded so preposterous. But supposing it really wasn't? She was interested in hearing what other theories these Persona users had.

"You're right, they probably are. I have this horrible habit of assuming the best in people. It'll get me killed someday," she groaned.

That, it will. Not all people are angels.

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

Phoebe accepted the card, reading it at a glance. She'd have to investigate the webside and the Ayakura Information Network. It could contain more grains towards the truth.

"Thank you. I really appreciate this. I was floundering up till now, worried that this was just me. If there are others like us, we're not totally hopeless."

She grabbed a pen and a paper coaster from the coffee bar and wrote down her phone-number and email on it, then gave it to Alisa. "Here you are. If you need anything, go ahead and call me. And... thanks again." She eyed her coffee mug and smiled. "...Want a refill? I hear Kyle coming back. It'll be on me."

[Ayakura Alisa]

"That's just my pleasure to inform those interested as best as I can," I nodded and smiled, feeling a little accomplished with myself that my information had at least helped one person feel less confused and lost about the situation they probably only embroiled themselves into a week ago. I took the paper that had her phone number and email on it, which I kept and softly uttered my thanks to her. Then, she offered to give me a refill. Free. Sweet! "...And I would most certainly love a refill. This stuff's great. I'll certainly be a returning customer." I nodded, continuing to smile.

Yeah, this is shaping up to be a great day already, huh? Yeah, it sure is. I can agree with you on that front.

[Phoebe Minola]

Phoebe beamed at her and waved Kyle over, who was coming back, carrying a crate of packaged sandwiches for the display fridge.

"Hey Kyle! Get your butt over here. Peppermint Surprise refill for the lady, on the double!" she said with a grin.

"Huh? Okay. You're chipper suddenly. While you're here, restock the fridge, will ya?" he said, folding back his sleeves and grabbing a fresh cup.

"Alright, I will," Phoebe sighed. She'd only do that because she was rather grateful to Kyle for bugging off earlier. He probably knew she wanted him poofed. "Make sure that's a damn good cup of coffee, Kyle, it's on me."

Kyle blinked at her while she bent down to start stocking the sandwich fridge. "You? Buying someone coffee? Has hell frozen over?"

It's MUCH worse than that, chico.

"Bite me~" was the singsong reply as she directed her ample butt in his general direction, making him chuckle and get to making Alisa a fresh cup of Peppermint Surprise.

"Your coffee, mademoiselle," he said grandly. "And whatever you said to Phoebe... thanks. She seems calmer already. She's been trying to play it cool but she's been more fidgety than a squirrel on speed."

"I have not!!" Phoebe protested from behind the counter before getting utterly distracted. "Ooh, we've got parmesan chicken sandwiches. I'm gonna take one for my lunch break, I'll give you the difference later, Kyle."

"You and your food-geekness. Don't forget to go get orders after you're done."

"I won't."

[Ayakura Alisa]

I smiled as the barista sauntered over to give me my refill as it seemed Feebs was occupied with something. He thanked me for seeming to calm her down a little. Yeah, I had the same sentiments as you, brother. Fidgety is one way to describe that barrel of energy. Not that I'm makin' fun of her or anything. She's pretty cute. I heard that~ You like her too, Shax. Don't lie. I guess I do, just a little. She was gonna get a sandwich or something for her lunch break. "No problem, man," I said to Kyle. "I have a way with words. I know how to give people the answers they want, after all, it's part of my job~" Soon, I directed my gaze to Isolde for a bit who had been reading what appeared to be a copy of Howl's Moving Castle. Oddly appropriate for someone like her, at a first glance, I feel. Yes, this Phoebe definitely knew her books. That was a good quality to have in a person.

"...And really, this coffee's great. I'd totally come back here just for that."

[Tristan Carter]

Tristn was getting bored with his selection of books. He had read and re-read them plenty of times, so it was starting to bore him. He needed some variety. And, scrounging up all the loose change in his dingy little apartment, he had enough money for a book. Hopefully a good one.

He had heard of a good bookstore in a certain part of town, so he started there. He hated that store. Nothing interested him. He went to another bookstore. Everything good was out of his price range. sighing, he wandered into a random store without noticing what it was. He looked around. it was a bookstore, and with a wonderful variety1 Nearly fainting from joy, he called out. "Anyone there? New customer here!"

[Phoebe Minola]

Kyle chuckled at Phoebe's switch from indignation to food geeking and beamed at Alisa. "Come back anytime. I'm here all day," he said.

Phoebe stood straight after finishing her sandwich shelving. She followed Alisa's gaze towards the girl she'd given "Howl's Moving Castle" to. There was familiarity in her gaze.

"Oh, you know her?" she blurted, observing the girl.

Maybe she was a Persona user as well?

"Hey, Earth to Feebs. Customer~" Kyle said in a sing-song tone. "C'mon Captain Spaceout, don't leave me hanging. Get your plaza of a butt in gear."

Phobe jolted out of her musings and blushed fiercely. "Gah! Stop calling me that. I'm going. Sorry Alisa, I'll be back, enjoy your coffee!"

She passed by Isolde and waved at her spontaneously. "Hey, how's the book? All good? Can I get you anything else?" she said quickly, before squeezing by to the new arrival.

It was a slender-looking young man, another new face. "Hi, welcome to Shakespeare and Co. Looking for anything in particular or do you want to relax at the cafe and check out some books?"

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan was still looking around. The variety alone... He was floored! He didn't know what he would do with so many books! He just found his new home away from home! And then the staff arrived, earlier than expected, and was already trying to see what he wanted. So to the point! Tristan looked at the woman, a larger lady. He knew she would work here, so she would be able to recommend something...

"Do you have any horror-fantasy books," he started to ask, then fished out his money from his pocket. "Any that I can afford with this?" He looked around. They should have one...

[Phoebe Minola]

Phoebe beamed at the young man. He looked rather bewildered at the variety and sheer amount of books Shakespeare and Co. had on its shelves. That's pretty much how a lot of people reacted, the first time they came in.

She'd reacted like that too. The bookstore was truly quite monumental in terms of quantity. Hisako and her husband, the owners, took books extremely seriously.

She held back a smile at the amount of money he showed him. A lot of people had money troubles in Mosaic city -- least of all her. She could sympathize.

"Absolutely," she said with a smile. "We've got a Best Price promotion running this month. The books in the promotion are all older publications and mostly, older editions as well, but they're still brand new books. Let's see, a good horror fantasy," she said and looked him up and down. "Stephen King is a safe, all-round bet but you, my friend, are looking for Mr. Howard Phillips Lovecraft," she said expertly. "You may say 'oh everyone reads him' but I say, he's not the goddamn master for nothing. Otherwise, you go with Algernon Blackwood. If you've never heard of him, you will now."

She turned around to a display table covered in books. Her hand hovered over certain books and eventually she plucked out one and handed it to him.

"Here, try this. It's the "Fathers of Horror Megapack". It's a collection of short stories by Poe, Lovecraft, Blackwood, Dunsany, Machen and a few others. Older stuff but if you're talking fantasy horror, this is genesis," she said and beamed at him. "It's a 2005 edition, but this is timeless stuff. Why don't you chill at a table for a bit and check it out before you make up your mind."

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan looked on with relief as the woman started to search for a specific book. A sale, huh? Well, perfect timing for me then! Not only was he happy about his timing, but he was also happy that he had run into a salesperson who actually seemed to know what they were talking about. It was a first for him, and he pondered this as he was handed the book. With a gracious "thank you," he went and sat. And oh, was he ever so happy about the book that was recommended!

With stories from the literary giants, it took all he had not to read it all in one sitting. He went back up after reading a couple paragraphs in a few stories. He noticed that Isolde was here, and trying to talk to the lady who recommended the book to him. Deciding that he didn't want to interrupt anything, he went to go check out the amazing selection in the store.

[Phoebe Minola]

Phoebe beamed at Tristan and watched him go to a table to check out his book. She was always happy to see people take to any book she happened to recommend. She smiled at Isolde and went to a certain shelf, from where she pulled out a hard-cover and brought it to her.

"You mentioned Arthurian legends. I think you might like this. It's a retelling of the Arthurian legend from the point of view of the women involved," she said. "It can be a little controversial sometimes because it gets a bit brutal with the myth -- the women aren't so romantic as the traditional tales portray them. You'll find yourself becoming sympathetic to Morgan le Fey and wanting Merlin to just drop dead, haha. But it's a very interesting perspective. I think you'll find it interesting."

Studying the girl for a moment she smiled. "Are you interested in the Arthurian mythology?" 

[Phoebe Minola]

"Well, if you're looking for anything else, we've got a great collection of reference books on mythology and lore on the second floor," Phoebe said to the girl. "You could find some very interesting stuff up there."

She liked this girl. She seemed very quiet and yet rather regal and dignified. "By the way, my name's Phoebe. Have you been to our bookstore before?" she asked politely.

She surreptitiously glanced around to make sure nobody else needed anything. Nope, all clear. Kyle was chilling out at the bar, Tristan was browsing the book she'd given him and no new customer had seated themselves at the tables. Those who were, were busy chatting, enjoying coffee or books or both.

It was a normal, pleasant evening.

[Isaac Strazos]

Personas. A rare phenomena, one that required further study. How they were chosen, how they improved, what their true purpose was... it was all very peculiar. Isaac wondered just how far back accounts of the Persona users reached- and also what the catalyst was for the creation of the Shadows. Did humans develop Persona in response to the threat of the Shadows, or were they simply a side-effect from what first created the Shadows? Even as a Shadow himself, Isaac lacked these answers. It was unlikely, but the best place to get information on the past tended to be from books. As such, he headed into the first bookstore he found- a place called Shakespeare and Co.

Without regard to his surroundings, Isaac headed into the history section and started flicking through books at random. Some he put back on the shelf, but whenever he found something that seemed like it could be relevant to his interests, he tore the page or chapter out and dropped the book on the floor before moving to the next. Before long, there was a small pile of damaged books at his feet, and the man seemed to have no intention of stopping any time soon, already having a packet of twenty pages after a few minutes of searching.