The Art of Life [DJ]

[Phoebe Minola]

For Phoebe, this was a real crime and shame. The museum, which had so excited her when she first came to Mosaic, was now deserted and quite pitiful. At least a tour was free of charge now. She could wander around and enjoy the art and historical exhibits all she liked, without anyone bothering her or jostling her, or any schoolchildren ruining her visit by chattering loudly and making stupid, crude remarks about art. Especially the plumpier women in certain paintings. She'd had more than her fill of bad jokes about those.

The only real problem, in her view, was the Shadows. They were just as bad interrupts of her visits. Naturally, she fought 'em off and did her best to keep them from harming the art exhibits.

In fact, that's why she was here now. She'd brought along a feather duster to clean off some exhibits and sheets to cover up the most vulnerable ones.

While someone else might call her foolish for risking her life doing this sort of thing, Phoebe felt that protecting this precious art was important. It reminded her of calmer, happier days and it helped keep her mind of the more grim aspects of this new reality. She was actually tempted to start carrying artifacts out of the perimeter and into the safe zone for safe-keeping but she couldn't really think of any ways to do that without getting in legal trouble -- and there was also the chance that they might actually attract Shadows, being as they came from a spot already infested.

"There now, all better," she muttered, wiping off some dust from the frame of a modernist painting. Not her favorite art school but she appreciated the art for its own sake.

[DJ Mcloud]

DJ sighed softly, it was all still such a blank for some reason. The last time he had come here he fought a weird muscled shadow that came out of one of the paintings, he remembered that much. He also remembered losing quite badly, at least until he passed out. After that it was just flashes as he faded in and out of consciousness. It was just like the day he sent one of his school peers to the hospital for picking on his little sister. He tried to keep his emotions restrained for that very reason, he wasn't sure why but he couldn't be trusted when his emotions came out.

He thought that fighting these shadows would be good for venting his aggression but it seemed that it was only aggravating his emotional tendencies. Fighting wasn't getting rid of his anger, it was just giving it an excuse to get out of its cage. The worst part is he could barely remember what he did after every time he blacked out. He thought maybe if he returned to where it happened something might job is memory and give him some clues about how to better get a reign on this side of his rage.

He approached one of the paintings, one that had fallen off the wall and onto the ground. It looked as if someone had just thrown paint at a canvas in a fit of rage, something he wanted to do sometimes. That was the painting that the Gigas had come out of. He sighed softly, flashes of it came and went, whatever had happened it had surely been violent. He didn't feel bad about doing that sort of thing to a shadow but he did feel weird every time he lost control like that and it was making him fearful. He walked along the gallery and blinked softly as he spotted another person. It didn't appear to be a shadow so he called out to her. "H-Hello?" He said in a hushed tone, looking her over.

[Phoebe Minola]

Phoebe had been serenely dusting another painting when someone spoke suddenly from behind her. She blurted a frightened shriek and she very nearly threw her dusting feather into the air. She flailed and fidgeted with it, bouncing it between her hands before getting a good hold of it and whipping around.

Oh.

She blushed a deep pink. It was just a person-- a young man, in fact, with a very cute face and powder-white blond hair. He looked at her with a rather uncertain and nervous look. Phoebe assumed that was probably because he hadn't expected to see anyone else in this deserted museum... much less a chubby lady dusting paintings.

"Oh, erm, h-hi," she blurted, still blushing. "You scared the bejeezus out of me. I was just... um, cleaning the paintings. Seems a pity to let them rot and gather dust..."

La la la, I sound like a master neeeeeeerd... she groaned internally.

However, the boy's face seemed a bit... familiar. He must've been one of the students at her school but she very likely hadn't had a chance to teach in his class or she may have remembered him better. She briefly wondered what he was doing here and was concerned he might've wandered out of the safe zone, but then she wondered whether he was yet another Persona User.

"I... I'm Phoebe. Nice to meet you," she said with a little bow.

[DJ Mcloud]

He blinked softly and looked the woman over as she seemed quite startled by his sudden introduction. He couldn't exactly blame her, he had been surprised to see another person here himself. This was the first time he'd seen someone else in the outer circle outside the gap. He looked over her again and blushed softly, she was rather cute too. It was clear she was somewhat older than him but she looked rather youthful as well, he couldn't help letting a light pink touch his cheeks though he tried not to get too excited. he noticed she was blushing as well but for the life of him he couldn't figure why.

"H-Hi there." He nodded again, smiling softly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you..." He whispered softly. "Dusting them?" He blinked lightly. "It's a worthy cause but if you leave them here it'll just get worse again..." He thought her actions were a bit strange but recognized the value in her trying to save the pieces of art, even in this apocalyptic landscape. Even if it seemed like a losing battle he recognized and respected her need to at least try, it was a sort of microcosm of the battle against the shadows in the outer circle, there were so many of them but they couldn't just stop fighting.

"I-I'm DJ..." he bowed nervously, not sure how to respond to the cute girl that was also his elder. She explained her purpose here but he still wasn't clear on a few things, all this was so new to him. "S-So... since you're here... does that mean you're magic too?" He asked, scratching the back of his head curiously. "S-Sorry... I'm still a bit new to all this... and I'm not used to talking to pretty girls either." He blushed deeper and hung his head a bit.

[Phoebe Minola]

They were both a bundle of nerves, it seemed. Seeing the boy act so... adorably confused and sheepish put her a little bit at ease. They were mostly on the same level of confidence, apparently so there was no real need to be frightened. She was still nervous, but not that much.

"Oh, er, it's alright. I was miles away," she admitted and rubbed the back of her neck with a little laugh. "Ah, you don't have to whisper, there aren't any Shadows around quite yet. I fought off those that were around before I started dusting."

She sighed, looking at the paintings wistfully. "I know it's kind of pointless. But I just feel so sorry for them. I want to move them but I'm not sure where I could take them without causing a lot of undue questions. We can't exactly afford people wandering into the outskirts and getting themselves in danger from Shadow attacks and grilling us about why we do so. Until I can think of a viable option... coming here to dust and cover them in sheets is the best I can do," she groaned.

"It's nice to meet you DJ," she carried on and shrugged off her distress over the paintings' situation. She couldn't help a smile. He sounded like he was really new to the Persona business, the way he spoke gave it all away. That made her somewhat sad, in a way. It meant another young kid had gotten into something so life-threatening that their Persona manifested and he would be embroiled in this ongoing war, but on the other hand... one more ally for that fight. She decided that she might as well try to fill him in on whatever she could so he might at least know what he was getting into.

But she blushed very much when he said he wasn't used to talking to pretty girls.

How... how cute!! she thought and almost squealed internally.

"Magic? Oh dear, you're new. Well, I don't know if the power we have is magic per se but... I guess that's the best way to put it?" she said, thoughtfully, trying to sound proper. "The power is called Persona. If it really is anything like the Jungian psychological theory, then it's... hmm, let's say it's our other self. It's a manifestation of the 'mask' we all create, 'designed on one hand to make a definite impression upon others, and on the other to conceal the true nature of the individual', to paraphrase Jung. They seem to take a form corresponding to some, um, universal archetype from world mythos that represents us. Personas can fight Shadows which... may or may not be manifestations of humanity's collective unconscious."

She facepalmed a little. "Sorry, half of that must've gone over your head. I'm... I'm a complete nerd. Basically, there's quite a few of us. We're Persona-Users. We think Personas are an inner power that somehow manifests itself and can fight Shadows. We're not sure how or why but right now, we can't really afford to have too many questions. We just know that the story about the perimeter is a lie. We're... trapped in the city. Penned up like cattle," she said quietly. "And we're... trying to find out what's going on."

She suddenly put her hand up and patted his shoulder. "It's... a lot to take in at once. I'm sorry I dumped that all on ya. Just... keep in mind you aren't alone."

[DJ Mcloud]

He noticed that she still seemed nervous, he couldn't blame her, he was still quite nervous himself. He blinked a bit as she told him there was no need to keep quiet but softly nodded. "A-ALright..." He said, his voice still quiet but no longer in a whisper. "Sorry, just overly-cautious instinct I suppose..." He nodded again when she explained her reasoning for caring for the paintings, it was about what he had guessed but it still seemed a little pointless to him. "N-Nice to meet you too Ms. Phoebe." He nodded softly, giving a light bow out of respect for her.

He saw her blush and tried not to notice it as he glanced to the side, looking at one of the paintings. He the entered her long explanation, feeling a bit dizzy after hearing all that. He'd known much of this already though admittedly in a less scientific and more roundabout sort of way. "I-I see..." He said simply. Though he really didn't have a mentor and there was still much he didn't know there were things he picked up on the job, learned from his Persona herself or heard about in the gap or through rumors with other Persona users though he hadn't formally met many of them.

That being said the part about the mask made sense to him, he tried very hard to keep his emotions in check as not to let what happened here with the Gigas from before happen again with someone more human. That made sense as Arianrhod seemed to also try to keep herself cool and concealed and was quite easily shamed if something managed to get the better of her. "I knew some of the basics already... but I guess that makes sense..." He rubbed the back of his head softly.

He wasn't sure about the overly-complicated way she explained it but it did seem true at least. It was like his math teachers that used to teach the full methods when shorthand and shortcuts were equally effective. He understood why it was done but at the same time he wished they could take things a bit easier. "You remind me of some of my teachers at school talking like that." He laughed lightly and shook his head, hopefully she didn't take offense to that or anything. "I guess I'm trying to find out what's going on too... I want to get out of here and make sure my family's okay..."

He looked down softly and shrugged. "Though I do want to know more about this kind of magic too... I like the feeling of getting stronger by knowing my other self..." He sighed softly, maybe if he got stronger too he could find a way to stop his little outbursts of rage, that much would be preferable. "It's alright, it is a lot and I knew some of the basics already but thank you for the information ma'am." He bowed softly again with a gentle smile. "It is nice to know I'm not alone."

[Phoebe Minola]

Phoebe blurted a little laugh, amused at his talk. "Funny you should say that," she chuckled. "I am a teacher. Well, only a sub; I was supposed to take over English from a local teacher but then the perimeter fell and he didn't move away so he kept his job and I... sort of ended up as a general assistant and run around. Guess I really need to work on my brevity."

She sighed. "We're all in the same boat. I haven't spoken to my folks since the perimeter dropped. Everyone with families outside the perimeter are worried. But there's not much we can do other than try to figure things out."

She folded her arms thoughtfully and watched him. He seemed like a good kid. She reached out and patted his shoulder gently. "That's what we're all trying to do, so don't feel bad about it. I'm... trying to get used to fighting because really, I'm a big scaredicat. And I want to be able to look after others who fight with me."

She laughed it off, trying to shake them out of the nervous atmosphere. "That's partly why I'm here. What about you, what brought you all the way out here, DJ?"

[DJ Mcloud]

DJ listened to her backstory and nodded softly. She probably did need to work on her brevity after all but he enjoyed hearing the story all the same, it was always nice to learn about new people. He nodded softly though, he supposed it was the same for a lot of people since many people moved or migrated to the city from all over, there were probably many with families outside. "I guess so." He smiled softly and shrugged, though he was sorry for the situations of the others he was still glad not to be alone and could sympathize with them.

"You seem pretty brave to me Ms. Phoebe. Not everyone would come here to dust paintings. I don't think bravery is about what you're facing, but what motivates you to do something about it, right?" He smiled softly. He could understand the desire to help out, that was why he wanted to get stronger we well. He sighed softly as he reflected on his own reasons for being here, shaking his head softly, deciding to tell her the truth. "Ever since I was little I've had emotional troubles... I was a little unbalanced for some reason. I was fighting a shadow here last week and kinda... blacked out. Bad things happen when I black out... it happened at school once too. I came here to try and figure out what happened so maybe I can stop it..." He sighed and shook his head again.

[Phoebe Minola]

Phoebe blushed at the compliment. "Oh... well, I try," she blurted and then she smiled to try and cheer him up. 

The way he described his problem to her made her a bit concerned. She was always sorry to see kids plagued with such problems -- or any kind of problem, really -- and she always felt the urge to try and reach out and help.

"That doesn't sound 'unbalanced' to me," she said calmly. "DJ, 'unbalanced' is a word you shouldn't just use for yourself. Truly unbalanced people are... well, they're nothing like you. Having such a problem is nothing to be ashamed of. It's something to face head-on and beat down."

She paused awkwardly. "...My dad always tells me that. And he's... been right more than once. Maybe I can help you. Do you... want to tell me about it?"

...and of course that's when a goddamn Shadow decided to show its face. A Hand type moseyed out of nowhere almost and it immediately made a beeline for them. Phoebe caught it out of the corner of her eye and suddenly whipped out her hammer from the holster on her back.

"DJ, get behind me! I've fought these little turds before, I know what they can do," she said decisively and summoned Antiope.

The Hand attacked the Amazon with an overhead swing that seemed to materialize a sword but the Amazon blocked it with her shield. It echoed sharp and metallic and Phoebe shook herself down before taking a swing at the Hand with her hammer. It connected with a loud thud and the Hand went flying, to smack against the opposite wall.

[DJ Mcloud]

DJ smiled softly at her blush, it was sort of refreshing in an odd way to not be the only one nervous about an interaction like this. Usually he was the one stumbling over himself blushing with nervousness in these sorts of conversations. He was happy that she seemed eager to help though even just talking to her for this long saw that as no surprise from her. That being said he wasn't sure if her next statement was a positive appraisal of his character or a scolding for not using a term correctly. Since Phoebe seemed to be a combination of a teacher and a guidance counselor it could be both.

"I suppose that's true..." He sighed and rubbed the back of his head softly. "I've just been trying to manage it as best I could, keeping myself calm and centered and such. But I can't help letting things get to me sometimes. And when that sort of thing happens it just brings on more issues." He took a deep breath, he'd told this to more than one counselor in his day though even he didn't know the full extent of what was going on in his brain with his emotions sometimes.

He backed up when the older woman told him to, spotting the shadow and putting a hand on his weapon. "Are you sure? I can help fight!" He insisted as he pulled out the sword and summoned Arianrhod as well. Even if Phoebe could handle the lone shadow herself he didn't want to be caught off-guard if more showed up or something unexpected happened. For now however he simple watched her fight with a bit of interest. She had clearly been at this quite a bit longer than he had and it was quite enjoyable to watch her fight.

[Phoebe Minola]

Phoebe smiled at DJ quickly before focusing on the fight. "Sure! Any help is appreciated, but let me take point. My Persona is a tank."

It was just as well because more of the Hands showed up. Phoebe could count three in all and one of them was bigger and fatter than the others. That one looked like a new type. She summoned Antiope and the Amazon surged forth from a haze of azure light when the card was shattered.

"Mazio!" Phoebe commanded and Antiope tapped her shield with her spear, then raised it overhead.

Lightning came down out of nowhere and struck all three Shadows. They staggered a bit, but nothing spectacular. It seemed like lightning was not their weakness.

"When you're fighting these things, try different tactics if you feel you've got leeway. They have weaknesses and strengths just like we do," she explained quickly.

One of the smaller Hands came close and swiped at her, to the sound of a blade whistling in the air and a flash of energy. Antiope stood her ground and the impact crashed on her shield. Phoebe shuddered a bit. That hurt.

"Oh, they hit hard. Antiope, Rakukaja!" she commanded. "Let's take a little insurance on our defense."

The Amazon swung her shield arm gracefully and a wave of orange light danced around Phoebe and DJ, fortifying their defense. Phoebe then watched as the Fatty Hand floated up and snapped its fingers, blasting them with small but painful explosions of fire, one for each. She yelped. Fire hurt her less but the hit was sudden.

"Rapid Needles!"

Antiope surged and attacked the Fatty Hand with a flurry of quick stabs from her spear. The Shadow screeched and tumbled backwards from the force of the attack, and Phoebe recognized its weakness to pierce attacks. Just what she needed. She had to finish that thing off as fast as she could. She willed Antiope to go for it again, and not give it a chance to get back up.

The Amazonian Persona rushed forward and Phoebe only staggered when another slashing attack fame from the first Hand. The other one was going for DJ; she trusted that he could cope with that one while she dealt with the bigger one. The Fatty Hand actually couldn't take a second, powerful piercing attack and slammed into the ground, limp. Phoebe smashed her hammer into the other Hand, sending it reeling backwards. She needed to finish off the big one. Since it used fire, she couldn't use her more powerful fire spell but she willed another Mazio to soften them all up a bit more.

The Fatty Hand had taken enough of a beating and perished. Now there were just two left. She stood beside DJ to take any heavier hits that came.

[DJ Mcloud]

DJ nodded, letting her take the brunt as she had suggested. He didn't like letting other people protect him but she was indeed the stronger of them and he wasn't going to be stupid about this. He watched her attack and gasped, though she hadn't done much damage she still attacked all the enemies at once and weakened them all a bit. "Wow... you can attack them all at once? That's amazing." He gasped softly as he continued to watch. He noticed the attacks seemed ineffective, he had encountered weaknesses and felt them himself, so knowing some shadows had sweet spots was nothing new to him.

"Yeah, I've noticed. The first shadow I fought was weak to my ice... but I was also weak to its fire, hotter than anything I've ever felt..." He winced at the memory. It was strange that he was now more sensitive to some sorts of heat now that he was a Persona user but all the same he found himself getting chilly less as well. He watched Phoebe take the hit and nodded, she needed to keep her strength up if they were to stand a chance. "Don't worry, I've got you! DIA!" That healing spell was still new to him so it took a good amount of his mental focus but he would be fine.

He felt the fortification to his defense wrap around him from her spell and felt a bit more confident now. "Thanks." He smiled and nodded as he and Arianrhod waited for an opening. His eyes widened as he saw the largest hand snap its fingers and was immediately hit with a fireball. Coughing and staggering back he winced, a bit winded. Why did they have to employ his weakness. He was in a good deal of pain and his head was still spinning a bit but he was sure it would have hurt a lot more had Phoebe not buffed his defense earlier.

"Let's get in on this." He nodded to Arianrhod. Since the enemy could attack them both as well he couldn't just stand around playing support. "Bufu, Bufu!" He called out, hitting two of the hands with ice spears. and weakening them further beyond what Phoebe had already done. Thanks to his boosting accessory his ice spells were his best shot and a bit stronger than they would normally be. He watched as Pheoebe finished off the big hand and weakened the others to boot. "Alright, one more shot should do it!" He called out.

"Bufu, Bufu!" He shot two more ice spears, impaling the hands and causing them to disappear. He bent over, panting softly. Using spells in rapid succession like that still took a lot out of him even though he was starting to get the hang of it. "Man, I need to learn how to attack everyone with one spell like you did." He chuckled softly.

[Phoebe Minola]

Taking the brunt of the attacks wasn't very hard, these were nothing compared to what she'd fought before. She smiled a bit awkwardly at DJ's impressed look and blushed again.

"Aw, not really," she said. "So far as I understand it's the natural progression of Persona skills. They first learn to attack single targets and then learn how to multiply the effect of their spells. They grow progressively stronger. Eventually yours will too." 

She giggled at the soothing, slightly tickling feeling of the healing spell. Good to know he had a way to keep himself on top condition in the middle of a fight. "Hey, thanks!"

He was doing pretty well, all in all, and Phoebe tanked a few more hits while he blasted away the other two Hands with ice spells. Good to know that his strength complimented her weakness. However, she was a bit concerned when he used so many ice spells in rapid succession. They were pretty strong, yes, but she had to warn him about how such a tactic could backfire on him.

"Good job!" she said. "You're good with the magic attacks. But easy on the rapid-fire spell-casting. Your Persona draws from you to cast stuff and attack, so if you overdo it, you could get a massive headache and feel very weak. Then you won't be able to use anything else. Don't worry about attacking everything in sight and pace yourself. Slow and steady wins the race, right? It'll get easier when your Persona learns to spread single attacks around but until then keep track of how much you can cast before you feel you're getting dizzy. Always save a bit of stamina and mental fortitude for emergencies, okay?"