OOC: Question the Pups (June)
A bit late this month, but here we go! June questions and answers for Mitsuru.
1. A stranger knocks on your character's door in the middle of the night and asks for help. Does your character open the door and let the stranger in?
She opens the door, but doesn't let the person in. Instead, she keeps them on the front step, and interrogates them on just why they need help, before deciding if they can come in. (And even then, she'd only let them have access to the lobby.)
*What if the stranger is a tattooed, wiry man with blood on his face?
She tells him to wait and informs Aragaki that one of his weird acquaintances is at the door. She would still hear him out, but would probably call down either Akihiko, or maybe Shinjiro down to provide some muscle if needed. Doing so would also let her make a bit of a bluff, or at least posture a bit.
*What if the stranger is a weary-looking old lady?
Mitsuru might be a bit more lenient in that situation. Again, this person would be limited to the lounge, but Mitsuru would be a bit quicker to let the woman in. And possibly ask her if she needs anything to drink before hearing her out.
*What if the stranger is a twelve-year-old child who keeps looking around as through someone is following him?
First, she'd double check to make sure this isn't the child that S.E.E.S. wronged in the past. Then, she'd make her questions quick before letting the child in. (And probably call Takeba down to help her deal with having a child in the dorm.)
2. Does your character have any allergies or sensitivities? How do they affect her life?
No real physical allergies, other then a slight aversion to fire and extreme heat. Exposure to that can make her a bit sluggish (like getting submerged in a hot bath, or similar) or a bit on edge. (Open fires and the like.)
3. Is your character progressive, using new technologies as they become available? Is she slow to adapt to technological change? Or is she middle-of-the-road, waiting to see if things work but using them as soon as she's satisfied that they do?
Progressive, if only because she's the daughter of a megacorp family that makes lots and lots of technological innovations. Chances are she has the newest, shiniest cellphone, music player, etc, available. She isn't a tech geek, but she doesn't hesitate to try out something new once (or just before) it hits the shelves.
4. Your character receives a mysterious package. There's no return address (or not one that she recognizes) and she wasn't expecting anything. What does she do?
She'd contact the Kirijo Group to absolutely make certain that no one was sending a package over, and then act from there.
*The package is unusually heavy and the label is hand-lettered in a handwriting she doesn't recognize.
For that, she'd ask around the dorm first to see if anyone else was expecting a package, because no one she knows would hand write anything on their mail.
*The package is a thin manila envelope with a printed label.
She'd put on a pair of gloves before handling it, and also use the strongest, sharpest letter opener she has to make a clean opening in the envelope. Chances are, the letter has something to do with the Kirijo Group and the Dark Hour.
*There seems to be a faint vibration coming from the package and it was left on her doorstep.
INFORM THE POLICE. And instructs the other S.E.E.S. people on the pain of Execution NOT to take the package inside. The vibrating would be suspicious, but leaving it on the doorstep instead of the front desk would kick her paranoia/caution up a notch.
*The package is large and was delivered through a reputable shipping service
Again, contact the Kirijo Group to make sure that they hadn't sent something to the dorm and forgot to tell her. Since the shipping was reliable, she wouldn't hesitate so much on opening that.
5. Does your character enjoy camping outdoors?
Mitsuru has never actually gone camping before; her family has a vacation home in Yakushima, and she's gone on walks/hikes around the island, but that isn't quite the same. While she'd enjoy being outdoors, she wouldn't really enjoy the 'roughing it' parts of camping.
6. Does your character know how to hunt or fish? Is she good at it? Does she do it for recreation or for food?
No, not at all. She doesn't even know how long meat keeps before it goes rotten. (Although after the encounter with and butchering of a large bear, she might have looked into it a little just for knowledge's sake.)
7. What is the one major regret your character has about her life so far? Does she plan to do anything about it, and if so, what?
That whole deal with Tartarus ranks very high up there. Mitsuru's psychology with it is interesting; while she knows that it isn't fully her fault in her head, she has a hard time convincing herself emotionally. Tartarus and the Dark Hour are both thanks to her grandfather, and she IS his descendent, by blood; so it's her burden to carry. Her father has also been profoundly effected by what happened, and she feels guilty for that as well.
There's also this undercurrent of 'if I had been better, or been able to summon sooner, maybe things would have turned out differently' and it's something that she isn't able to fully shut out. Perfectionist streaks can be a real bitch like that sometimes.
As for what she plans to do about it, Mitsuru intends to completely eliminate the Dark Hour, and the Shadows, and is dedicated to finding a way to do so.
8. What one major thing does your character want to accomplish in her life to come?
Since I already said 'eliminate the Dark Hour,' there's also the goal of traveling, and going to college. She still really wishes to go to Europe sometime, and maybe even study abroad for a year or two.
9. How does your character want to live out her older years?
Either as the head of the Kirijo Group, or as a trusted advisor for whoever is currently running things. And definitely NOT creating eldritch abominations like her grandfather.
10. Overall, is your character satisfied with her childhood?
...HAHAHAHA-
Sorry.
No, she isn't all that satisfied. She was sheltered, and had to go through some bad stuff as an ickle kid; experiments, watching her grandfather gradually slip into insanity, her father slowly growing more and more distant, and her mother passing away to provide the cherry on the top of the 'bad childhood' sundae.
11. Your character has an award someone gave her sitting on a shelf. What is it for, and what are the circumstances under which she received it?
It's one of those decorative medals, from a fencing competition. She earned it by coming in first in a competition between schools, in the individual Épée challenge.
*Is she proud of it or embarrassed by it?
Moderately proud of it. She felt like she performed well in the competition.
*Does she feel that she deserved it?
Yes; she did have the best performance, and managed to score quite a few clean hits while keeping any points from getting scored on her.
12. Has your character ever been arrested? For what? Did she deserve it? Does she feel that she deserved it?
Chances are the Kirijo Group has a good amount of Port Islands police under their thumb, or can pull some strings (ie, WEAPONS STORE IN A MALL) to prevent any incidents; this happened at least once in the past, with Shinji. So no, no criminal record for Mitsuru!
13. Has your character ever struck someone in anger?
She hit Akihiko once with a steel pipe while under the influence of a brain crawler. And then tackled him. And tried to strangle him. In her defense, she was very sorry about it afterwards.
14. Has your character ever killed anyone?
Other then the mooks in Flowerclock, no. And those fall into a bit of a gray area. She did freeze quite a few of them in place during the final show down, and caused a few waves of ice, but most of the death happened when the tower collapsed. There was also large bears to worry about then, and a crazy mind control fellow in purple as well.
15. Is your character adventurous when it comes to food? Does she like to try out new cuisines?
Very adventurous. She has a fascination with trying new food (even though what counts as 'new' for Mitsuru is a bit different then the average person), whether it's simple ramen, corn dogs or hamburgers from the Western hemisphere, etc. This could either be because of her sheltered upbringing, or just a side effect of having her Persona affiliated with the Empress arcana. Either way, she's eager to try new foods.
16. What is your character's idea of a perfect day?
A day where things get accomplished, but there's time for a bit of leisure as well. (Such as time to read a good book, take a hot bath, enjoy a good meal, take her motorcycle for a ride, etc.) She likes the idea of having a full day, more then a relaxed day.
17. What is your character's idea of a perfect meal?
Something good sized, and preferably novel. (Or failing that, European. She's probably tried just about every French food under the sun by now.) Candle light with her meal is purely optional, but she prefers to have it at a table, and to be able to eat it slowly. And also, that the serving size is enough to leave room for a nice dessert at the end.
18. Is your character an optimist or a pessimist?
Mitsuru would say she's a 'realist' but the fact is that she leans more towards the glass being half empty. She doesn't put a lot of stock in idealist stories or notions, and is the sort of person who plans for the worst. She isn't a negative person, per se; she doesn't go around crushing people's views because she doesn't agree with them, but she doesn't readily believe what a positive person has to say, either.
19. What sort of sense of humor does your character have?
Something that's a bit on the sardonic side. She doesn't laugh too easily, and is more likely to force a smile then to actually express real amusement. Otherwise, she enjoys things like situational humor or the like. More crude humor would be completely lost on her.
20. Is your character ambitious?
In the scope of a normal person's goals, yes, but in her own life, no. She's only doing what is expected of her; in this case, taking over a financial empire when the time comes, continuing to improve her skills and intelligence so she'll be ready when the time comes, and wiping out the Dark Hour. The last is probably the most ambitious thing of hers, since she did make the choice to take up that challenge.
21. What makes your character proud?
Her brain! Mitsuru is very proud and pleased with her ability to do well academically, as well as knowing how to lead S.E.E.S. in their fight against the Shadows. This also drives her to continue to study, so she can keep that mental edge.
22. What makes your character embarrassed?
Ordering takoyaki. Being forced to admit ignorance in something, or showing that she does, in fact, have personality faults and weaknesses. She loathes losing her composure, or looking anything less then competent; either of those can make her flustered pretty quickly.
23. Does your character look both ways before crossing the street?
Mitsuru is the sort of person who looks both ways, but also expects traffic to halt for her if she choses to step into the street.
24. What method of transportation does your character use? If she drives a car, for example, what kind of car does she drive?
Motorcycle! She rides one of those fancy, custom Ducati motorcycles, as much for pleasure as for actual transportation. If she isn't taking her bike, though, chances are someone hired by the Kirijo Group is chauffeuring her in a fancy, black, rather intimidating looking car.
25. Someone tries to rob your character on the street. What does she do? What is she carrying that the robbers might want? Is it a random incident or was she targeted?
Likely dispatches the mugger with a convenient steel pipe, or umbrella. An Execution at the end may or may not happen, depending on how crowded the area is, and if there's any witnesses. Being a Kirijo, she probably would be carrying a fair amount of wealth, and her appearance is pretty big clue that she's from a wealthy family. (I'm also tempted to say that it is VERY distinct. There's been about three natural red heads in the Persona series so far. So even if the Persona series genetics are different from the real world, it would still be a big tip off to say 'The Kirijo's heir is a red head.') So yes, targeted.
26. Does your character keep in touch with childhood friends? Which ones and why?
Given that Mitsuru spent most of her time from age four to age eight as a test subject, she probably didn't have many friends. And after the Kirijo experiments were done, she probably was stuck with private tutors and the like for a long time.
She does still keep some contact going with Shinjiro, although that's just making sure he isn't dead or starving; she doesn't pry much beyond that, given her past with him.
27. Is there anything that can get a smile out of your character no matter how sad or upset she is?
Playing the mushy romance card here, a kind word or close, one-on-one time with Akihiko is a good way of making her relax or smile. (And that time can be anything from private conversation to a full on not!date getting Takoyaki or traveling some place with the use of PINpoints.)
28. Is there anything that can upset your character no matter how happy she is?
Bad news concerning Shadows, or her father. Shadows have the capability to turn anything into serious business with Mitsuru, given her drive to eliminate them. And given how her father smokes like a chimney and is just as hellbent on rectifying the Group's mistakes, it isn't surprising that she's a bit jumpy when it comes to news about his health or the like.
29. What makes your character feel righteously angry?
Quite a few things! Up at the top of the list is Shadows (of course) but there's also things like rudeness, disrespect, or people shirking their duties. (See; when she verbally goes to town during the Fuuka events during June in P3.)
30. What does your character most like to do to celebrate her birthday?
Some small, private celebration. She might indulge in something sweet like cake, as well as set aside some private time to enjoy it by herself. Possibly with a book and tea close at hand.
*Pick your character's favorite birthday and write it up in narrative form.
*Pick your character's least favorite birthday and write it up in narrative form.
I will be doing this! Just in a separate post, since this is long enough as it is.
1. A stranger knocks on your character's door in the middle of the night and asks for help. Does your character open the door and let the stranger in?
She opens the door, but doesn't let the person in. Instead, she keeps them on the front step, and interrogates them on just why they need help, before deciding if they can come in. (And even then, she'd only let them have access to the lobby.)
*What if the stranger is a tattooed, wiry man with blood on his face?
She tells him to wait and informs Aragaki that one of his weird acquaintances is at the door. She would still hear him out, but would probably call down either Akihiko, or maybe Shinjiro down to provide some muscle if needed. Doing so would also let her make a bit of a bluff, or at least posture a bit.
*What if the stranger is a weary-looking old lady?
Mitsuru might be a bit more lenient in that situation. Again, this person would be limited to the lounge, but Mitsuru would be a bit quicker to let the woman in. And possibly ask her if she needs anything to drink before hearing her out.
*What if the stranger is a twelve-year-old child who keeps looking around as through someone is following him?
First, she'd double check to make sure this isn't the child that S.E.E.S. wronged in the past. Then, she'd make her questions quick before letting the child in. (And probably call Takeba down to help her deal with having a child in the dorm.)
2. Does your character have any allergies or sensitivities? How do they affect her life?
No real physical allergies, other then a slight aversion to fire and extreme heat. Exposure to that can make her a bit sluggish (like getting submerged in a hot bath, or similar) or a bit on edge. (Open fires and the like.)
3. Is your character progressive, using new technologies as they become available? Is she slow to adapt to technological change? Or is she middle-of-the-road, waiting to see if things work but using them as soon as she's satisfied that they do?
Progressive, if only because she's the daughter of a megacorp family that makes lots and lots of technological innovations. Chances are she has the newest, shiniest cellphone, music player, etc, available. She isn't a tech geek, but she doesn't hesitate to try out something new once (or just before) it hits the shelves.
4. Your character receives a mysterious package. There's no return address (or not one that she recognizes) and she wasn't expecting anything. What does she do?
She'd contact the Kirijo Group to absolutely make certain that no one was sending a package over, and then act from there.
*The package is unusually heavy and the label is hand-lettered in a handwriting she doesn't recognize.
For that, she'd ask around the dorm first to see if anyone else was expecting a package, because no one she knows would hand write anything on their mail.
*The package is a thin manila envelope with a printed label.
She'd put on a pair of gloves before handling it, and also use the strongest, sharpest letter opener she has to make a clean opening in the envelope. Chances are, the letter has something to do with the Kirijo Group and the Dark Hour.
*There seems to be a faint vibration coming from the package and it was left on her doorstep.
INFORM THE POLICE. And instructs the other S.E.E.S. people on the pain of Execution NOT to take the package inside. The vibrating would be suspicious, but leaving it on the doorstep instead of the front desk would kick her paranoia/caution up a notch.
*The package is large and was delivered through a reputable shipping service
Again, contact the Kirijo Group to make sure that they hadn't sent something to the dorm and forgot to tell her. Since the shipping was reliable, she wouldn't hesitate so much on opening that.
5. Does your character enjoy camping outdoors?
Mitsuru has never actually gone camping before; her family has a vacation home in Yakushima, and she's gone on walks/hikes around the island, but that isn't quite the same. While she'd enjoy being outdoors, she wouldn't really enjoy the 'roughing it' parts of camping.
6. Does your character know how to hunt or fish? Is she good at it? Does she do it for recreation or for food?
No, not at all. She doesn't even know how long meat keeps before it goes rotten. (Although after the encounter with and butchering of a large bear, she might have looked into it a little just for knowledge's sake.)
7. What is the one major regret your character has about her life so far? Does she plan to do anything about it, and if so, what?
That whole deal with Tartarus ranks very high up there. Mitsuru's psychology with it is interesting; while she knows that it isn't fully her fault in her head, she has a hard time convincing herself emotionally. Tartarus and the Dark Hour are both thanks to her grandfather, and she IS his descendent, by blood; so it's her burden to carry. Her father has also been profoundly effected by what happened, and she feels guilty for that as well.
There's also this undercurrent of 'if I had been better, or been able to summon sooner, maybe things would have turned out differently' and it's something that she isn't able to fully shut out. Perfectionist streaks can be a real bitch like that sometimes.
As for what she plans to do about it, Mitsuru intends to completely eliminate the Dark Hour, and the Shadows, and is dedicated to finding a way to do so.
8. What one major thing does your character want to accomplish in her life to come?
Since I already said 'eliminate the Dark Hour,' there's also the goal of traveling, and going to college. She still really wishes to go to Europe sometime, and maybe even study abroad for a year or two.
9. How does your character want to live out her older years?
Either as the head of the Kirijo Group, or as a trusted advisor for whoever is currently running things. And definitely NOT creating eldritch abominations like her grandfather.
10. Overall, is your character satisfied with her childhood?
...HAHAHAHA-
Sorry.
No, she isn't all that satisfied. She was sheltered, and had to go through some bad stuff as an ickle kid; experiments, watching her grandfather gradually slip into insanity, her father slowly growing more and more distant, and her mother passing away to provide the cherry on the top of the 'bad childhood' sundae.
11. Your character has an award someone gave her sitting on a shelf. What is it for, and what are the circumstances under which she received it?
It's one of those decorative medals, from a fencing competition. She earned it by coming in first in a competition between schools, in the individual Épée challenge.
*Is she proud of it or embarrassed by it?
Moderately proud of it. She felt like she performed well in the competition.
*Does she feel that she deserved it?
Yes; she did have the best performance, and managed to score quite a few clean hits while keeping any points from getting scored on her.
12. Has your character ever been arrested? For what? Did she deserve it? Does she feel that she deserved it?
Chances are the Kirijo Group has a good amount of Port Islands police under their thumb, or can pull some strings (ie, WEAPONS STORE IN A MALL) to prevent any incidents; this happened at least once in the past, with Shinji. So no, no criminal record for Mitsuru!
13. Has your character ever struck someone in anger?
She hit Akihiko once with a steel pipe while under the influence of a brain crawler. And then tackled him. And tried to strangle him. In her defense, she was very sorry about it afterwards.
14. Has your character ever killed anyone?
Other then the mooks in Flowerclock, no. And those fall into a bit of a gray area. She did freeze quite a few of them in place during the final show down, and caused a few waves of ice, but most of the death happened when the tower collapsed. There was also large bears to worry about then, and a crazy mind control fellow in purple as well.
15. Is your character adventurous when it comes to food? Does she like to try out new cuisines?
Very adventurous. She has a fascination with trying new food (even though what counts as 'new' for Mitsuru is a bit different then the average person), whether it's simple ramen, corn dogs or hamburgers from the Western hemisphere, etc. This could either be because of her sheltered upbringing, or just a side effect of having her Persona affiliated with the Empress arcana. Either way, she's eager to try new foods.
16. What is your character's idea of a perfect day?
A day where things get accomplished, but there's time for a bit of leisure as well. (Such as time to read a good book, take a hot bath, enjoy a good meal, take her motorcycle for a ride, etc.) She likes the idea of having a full day, more then a relaxed day.
17. What is your character's idea of a perfect meal?
Something good sized, and preferably novel. (Or failing that, European. She's probably tried just about every French food under the sun by now.) Candle light with her meal is purely optional, but she prefers to have it at a table, and to be able to eat it slowly. And also, that the serving size is enough to leave room for a nice dessert at the end.
18. Is your character an optimist or a pessimist?
Mitsuru would say she's a 'realist' but the fact is that she leans more towards the glass being half empty. She doesn't put a lot of stock in idealist stories or notions, and is the sort of person who plans for the worst. She isn't a negative person, per se; she doesn't go around crushing people's views because she doesn't agree with them, but she doesn't readily believe what a positive person has to say, either.
19. What sort of sense of humor does your character have?
Something that's a bit on the sardonic side. She doesn't laugh too easily, and is more likely to force a smile then to actually express real amusement. Otherwise, she enjoys things like situational humor or the like. More crude humor would be completely lost on her.
20. Is your character ambitious?
In the scope of a normal person's goals, yes, but in her own life, no. She's only doing what is expected of her; in this case, taking over a financial empire when the time comes, continuing to improve her skills and intelligence so she'll be ready when the time comes, and wiping out the Dark Hour. The last is probably the most ambitious thing of hers, since she did make the choice to take up that challenge.
21. What makes your character proud?
Her brain! Mitsuru is very proud and pleased with her ability to do well academically, as well as knowing how to lead S.E.E.S. in their fight against the Shadows. This also drives her to continue to study, so she can keep that mental edge.
22. What makes your character embarrassed?
Ordering takoyaki. Being forced to admit ignorance in something, or showing that she does, in fact, have personality faults and weaknesses. She loathes losing her composure, or looking anything less then competent; either of those can make her flustered pretty quickly.
23. Does your character look both ways before crossing the street?
Mitsuru is the sort of person who looks both ways, but also expects traffic to halt for her if she choses to step into the street.
24. What method of transportation does your character use? If she drives a car, for example, what kind of car does she drive?
Motorcycle! She rides one of those fancy, custom Ducati motorcycles, as much for pleasure as for actual transportation. If she isn't taking her bike, though, chances are someone hired by the Kirijo Group is chauffeuring her in a fancy, black, rather intimidating looking car.
25. Someone tries to rob your character on the street. What does she do? What is she carrying that the robbers might want? Is it a random incident or was she targeted?
Likely dispatches the mugger with a convenient steel pipe, or umbrella. An Execution at the end may or may not happen, depending on how crowded the area is, and if there's any witnesses. Being a Kirijo, she probably would be carrying a fair amount of wealth, and her appearance is pretty big clue that she's from a wealthy family. (I'm also tempted to say that it is VERY distinct. There's been about three natural red heads in the Persona series so far. So even if the Persona series genetics are different from the real world, it would still be a big tip off to say 'The Kirijo's heir is a red head.') So yes, targeted.
26. Does your character keep in touch with childhood friends? Which ones and why?
Given that Mitsuru spent most of her time from age four to age eight as a test subject, she probably didn't have many friends. And after the Kirijo experiments were done, she probably was stuck with private tutors and the like for a long time.
She does still keep some contact going with Shinjiro, although that's just making sure he isn't dead or starving; she doesn't pry much beyond that, given her past with him.
27. Is there anything that can get a smile out of your character no matter how sad or upset she is?
Playing the mushy romance card here, a kind word or close, one-on-one time with Akihiko is a good way of making her relax or smile. (And that time can be anything from private conversation to a full on not!date getting Takoyaki or traveling some place with the use of PINpoints.)
28. Is there anything that can upset your character no matter how happy she is?
Bad news concerning Shadows, or her father. Shadows have the capability to turn anything into serious business with Mitsuru, given her drive to eliminate them. And given how her father smokes like a chimney and is just as hellbent on rectifying the Group's mistakes, it isn't surprising that she's a bit jumpy when it comes to news about his health or the like.
29. What makes your character feel righteously angry?
Quite a few things! Up at the top of the list is Shadows (of course) but there's also things like rudeness, disrespect, or people shirking their duties. (See; when she verbally goes to town during the Fuuka events during June in P3.)
30. What does your character most like to do to celebrate her birthday?
Some small, private celebration. She might indulge in something sweet like cake, as well as set aside some private time to enjoy it by herself. Possibly with a book and tea close at hand.
*Pick your character's favorite birthday and write it up in narrative form.
*Pick your character's least favorite birthday and write it up in narrative form.
I will be doing this! Just in a separate post, since this is long enough as it is.