First Curse

[bondsofsuffering]

[Video]

Yo! [Have a teen with mint green hair waving at you, Hinoto-Ri!] The name's Hizumi Mizushiro. I'm new around here, and I've got a couple of questions if people don't mind helping a guy out!

Lessee... Well, starting with the easier one: does anyone have advice on good places to work? I'm only sixteen, but I don't really need to attend school, either, so any place that will accept me should work. Bonus if it gives useful discounts on important stuff like clothes or food or games!

[Wait, but isn't one of those--]

And my second question! [He holds up a hand with two fingers up!! Except... he also has an expression of slight discomfort.]

It's about those Persona things. I was just wondering... Is it normal for people to have deceased relatives as their Persona? I mean, I didn't really know my brother that well or anything--

[Ah. Maybe that's too much information?]

--Anyway, I think I can deal, but I've gotta say it's kind of weird to have part of your inner self represented by your late brother.

[He scratches the back of his head before shrugging it off.]

Well, that should cover it. Thanks in advanced!

[Private Thoughts]

[...And that should also give him a story to fall back on if anyone gets a little too curious about his Persona. Hopefully people will be warded off by the fact that it involves a deceased family member, but if he ends up being questioned about it, he's fairly confident he can deal with them with just enough of the truth to make it believable. As he mulls this over, he could swear there's a small whisper in the back of his mind:

And I thought you had given up on fighting your fate.

His usual smile remains easy on his face even as he silently calculates his response.

'Fate never intended for me to become like you.'

Although his Persona has not been summoned, it's all too easy for Hizumi to imagine his amused grin.]

Comments

[greyerrant]

Arturia runs a messenger service, you might want to ask her what sort of employment a young person can find.

And yes, my brother has seen fit to haunt me here, as well.

[bondsofsuffering]

Arturia... I don't think I've met that person yet! Could I get a physical description so I can spot her more easily?

[And... ahaha.]

So I'm not the only one after all... Do you ever have a hard time dealing with it?

[greyerrant]

She is short with blonde hair and green eyes.

I try to avoid the unquiet ghost, when it comes.

1/2

[bondsofsuffering]

Got it! I'll keep an eye out for her!

2/2

[bondsofsuffering]

...But that also means all I can do is keep running away from him. I'm not sure I like that kind of a plan.

Re: 2/2

[greyerrant]

I do not know what to tell you.

[bondsofsuffering]

I just wish there were a less cowardly way of dealing with it...

Ah, well. I'll figure something out.

[glassworkgenius]

Nice to meet you, Mizushiro-san. Um. I'm... sorry. About your brother, that is.

[ Should he really even be saying anything? How could he possibly know what it's like to have a brother... Even under this assumption they were never close. ]

It's. Ah. Nice though, in a way? Doesn't that mean he's looking after you...?

[bondsofsuffering]

It's nice to meet you too! [Mr. he doesn't know your name.]

Looking after me? Hmm, I wonder if that's really how it is...

[glassworkgenius]

It's Taiyou Amemiya. You can stick with Taiyou.

Even if you two weren't close, I guess there's this kin bond thing. If I were you it'd make me feel a lot safer!

[bondsofsuffering]

Taiyou it is, then!

Hmm... Maybe! It's still a little odd, though. Never really got the chance to meet him, even...

[Hmm. Oh well.]

But hey, what about yours? Now that I've got one, I'm getting kinda curious about everyone else's!

[glassworkgenius]

Oh, you've got it wrong, I haven't summoned my Persona yet!

I'm still making sure I can handle myself out there at night. In the first place I still get sleepy before the 13th hour...

[bondsofsuffering]

Haaa, so I wasn't one of the only ones. But it does get pretty dangerous then, so maybe it's better if you stayed inside.

[glassworkgenius]

I want to help Hinoto-Ri.

But I won't start until I'm sure I'm not getting in everyone else's way.

[bondsofsuffering]

Eeh... Even though it doesn't affect you at all? You'd risk your life for everyone here?

That's pretty selfless of you!

[glassworkgenius]

Well... If you think of it in a way where your friends have friends you yourself don't know... Or you could be friends in the future, I can't help but think, everyone should be protected!

Some of the people I've met would also do the same for me.

Video

[echo_of_a_jedi]

It's definitely possible. I myself "have" someone I knew in my youth, but she's a legend in her own right, so she fits the pattern of mythical figures, too.

Video

[bondsofsuffering]

I'm not sure if my brother would count as legendary, though.

[If he was known by the people at all, it was only in that secret evil CEO kind of way by the people he kept closest. Then again, his being the Devil may have been enough on its own...?]

What's your Persona, if you don't mind me asking?

Video

[echo_of_a_jedi]

Jedi Master Vima Sunrider. I get the impression that it's because she was kind of an inspiration when I was young.

Video

[bondsofsuffering]

Were you two close?

Video

[echo_of_a_jedi]

I wouldn't say particularly. She taught a very specific skill, and I didn't have the proper knack for it. A bond does form between master and apprentice, though, even if they are only that for a brief time.

Video

[bondsofsuffering]

It still sounds like she had a more significant impact on your life than my brother, though...

Being able to forge a bond like that makes me a little jealous, to be honest.

Video

[echo_of_a_jedi]

It's more like a side effect of the kind of training you go through to really learn something...

Video

[bondsofsuffering]

You say it like that's a bad thing...

Video

[echo_of_a_jedi]

It can be. We don't always get to choose how or to whom we're connected, after all. Sharing joy and sharing pain happen in the same way.