prismatica | Video

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persona 4: kanji tatsumi

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[He's too frazzled to keep it to voice. Seated at his desk, the feed begins with a very black-haired Kanji peering through his glasses at a small stack of papers in his hands. He had to go over them again, sweating visibly before he managed to swallow and get some moisture back into his mouth.]

Son of a bitch... I-I, ah, I gotta put out a warning to everybody!

S'about that Ware Wolf Shop that pops up around now. Dude sells a lotta good stuff, right? Well, he don't feel the need to tell ya about the fine fuckin' print!

[As he places the papers in a neat stack, the sharper eyes can spot the light going through the last flyer he held in his hands, staring at it in more than mild panic, bidding The Shirogane-Tatsumi couple a hearty congratulations and to please use these coupons to make their first anniversary just as memorable.]

Just... just don't buy the fancy rings, y'hear me!? Not unless you're real serious! D-don't make me explain it...!

[He rest the bottom half of his very red face in a palm, lost in thought for a moment. His adam's apple bobs with the next swallow. How the fuck was he gonna explain this to-

The feed cuts.]

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Then hurry to the rails back.

[She did appreciate Kanji telling her, but honestly, what could they do how?]

On it! See you soon.

[They'll be a fuckin' comet, that's for sure, so the railway name was apt. He'll get his stuff and hurry on to catch the next car.]

[He doesn't need to journey alone. She was there waiting or him as promised, muttering under her breath about something unrelated. Either way, she wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings.]

...

[It's when he sees her that the knots twist up in his belly again. He makes his approach casual, knowing better than to catch her by surprise. Pranking Naoto was always the closest thing to doom.

He exchanged a nod with the guards for the Comet car, then quietly cleared his throat. ~~Hello, Husband.~~]

...I know Lumi's typical routes. We'll find him.

[Hearing him clear his throat, she turned and nodded to him. ~~Hello, Wife.~~]

Alright. We'll be able to get an answer why that isn't mentioned on his product.

[He squared his jaw, tipped it. Sure, when he presented the rings they'd made a promise, but never did he think the society as a whole would presume that they'd made the plunge.

Yet here they were. When the car finally arrived and they embarked, Kanji moved to a seat to get comfortable. Already he slouched, but his heart was racing. It was one thing to text her about all of this, but another to be face-to-face with her. She hadn't said anything... was it safe to bring up, or should he wait until they'd tried not to knock teeth out of the salesman?]

...

[He'd made a sound as if to speak, but silenced. He hesitated, realized he'd promised not to keep things from her, and tried again.]

Of all the things they've sprung on us... I think we could finish a bingo board.

[He'll ease into it. It was better for his heart.]

[Sitting with him quietly in the car, she was trying to sort out her words. She wouldn't actually assault the owner - maybe - but she was still concerned over how loose 'marriage' could be on Lunatia. They hadn't even signed a certificate so how was it just acknowledged? Only through the purchase of the rings? Was there a microchip in them? Something to detect the patching pair?]

...

[Magic? It could easily be that. Technology had been mention time and again to have issues with holding onto Chroma.]

... Hm? Oh, yes, we likely could...

[Bingo board? She was a little confused, but he had her attention.]

Heheh... yeah, all this weird stuff gettin' dropped in our laps n' all. Makin' us think about stuff.

[Rather than let himself fidget, he laced his fingers together.]

S-so, what's the plan? I know we got time until we hit Lunatia, but I figure it'd unscramble our brains if we worked out the play-by-play. You always word plans out better than I ever could.

Sooner than expected, but... I suppose it's better to consider them now.

[She can still sigh at the absurdity.]

Well, right now, the plan is to simply go to the shop and tell him to provide better forewarning. I remember he told you to get down on one knee, but he neglected to mention that wearing the rings immediately meant we were wedded.

I thought that knee stuff sounded weird, but I didn't think Prismatica rules could be so similar to Earth rules. Tch... I should've known...!

[A fist came down against a knee and his scowl briefly deepened.]

...I-I wanted to make my own choice with that, too! I mean, marriage is huge! It's givin' the rest of your life to somebody! I know I made my promise, but if it was the whole damn way the minute we put the rings on, the least they could've done was tell us sooner!

Then- then we could have a celebration or somethin'!

[Idly, he turned the ring at his finger with a thumb. He'd worn it every day since.]

Wh-what would our last names be now, anyway?

[Humor. It's what Yosuke did when he was nervous. Fuck, why'd he have to have that rub off on him? This wasn't something to laugh about. But he didn't know if he was brave enough to talk giving the rings back (u-unless she wanted to), or even the big, terrifying d-word (unless she wanted to).]

Not even. On Earth, we don't get married on the same day as the proposal.

[This was... what was it called? 'Shotgun'? Was that the term?]

Yes. Or at least informed our friends... Strange how we're making the effort to understand the Prismals and this world; and yet, they don't bother understanding that we have our own cultures and traditions from home we'd prefer to follow.

[It's not the most ignorant thing she's realized, but it was still annoying. Blinking at his question, her brows furrowed.]

Hm... I'm not sure. We don't have to change either of our last names. Or... would that be something you want to do?

[Hey, yeah... she was right! How come they were poking and prodding at them when they arrived, but the minute they worked out they made tons of chroma they were left to their own devices?

He looked up, then. Did he want to change his last- Wait-]

I'm fine bein' a Shirogane if I'm-- H-hold up- you ain't pissed? Disappointed?

Why would I be? We talked about possibly getting married in the future. I can't deny being frustrated over missing out on a proper ceremony...

[And not having her grandfather present to witness...]

[His heart started pounding. Ma'd be angry if her only child went off and got married without her being involved in some way with the preparation, that's for sure but... but...!]

R-right, that talk did happen.

[He fumbled for the refreshment fridge and touched the panel, exchanging some chroma for a couple of canned drinks. Pick your poison, Naoto; he'll just take a canned coffee and hold it firm between his hands, using a bit of that firepower to heat it up.]

So... uhm... should we?

[Watching him exchange some Chroma for a few drinks, Naoto would pick out a canned coffee too. It would be a little sweeter than she would like, but that was fine.]

[Before she opened it though, she paused.]

... Would you want to at this point?

[He sighed.]

My heart says 'fuck yeah', but I feel like I'd be lettin' my mom down. S'pose we can't ask the primals to figure out intergalactic portals already...?

Hm... it's almost the end of the month. If things continue as they have, they might be preoccupied soon.

[He took a long pull of his drink, grateful for the sweetness and the way it quenched. Yet his eyebrows shot up with her remark.]

Shit, you're right. I'm surprised they even sent the fliers; how the hell's anybody supposed to do anything when the Weirdness rears its head?

I'm sure they've grown used to it themselves... or perhaps, the oddities came when we started to appear. Does it not seem that way?

It's always somethin' hungry for chroma. It's definitely after we started showin' up.

[He blew out a sigh.]

S'why I had the idea of movin' in the first place. If we spread out then Lunatia gets somethin' of a break, and the prismals don't kick us to the curb when we should be helpin' each other.

As for gettin' used to it? S'been almost two years now, right? I can see 'em bein'... detoxed... unsensitive...?

Indeed.

[She took a sip of her coffee.]

A valid reason. I'm surprised the other cities welcome us though if trouble seems to follow.

I believe the word you want is desensitized.

Deeesensitized.

[Testing it out, and he nodded.]

I getcha, but I'm glad they're givin' us a chance. It ain't real optimistic to say it, but we're too valuable for 'em to ice us out.

[He sat back and nursed his drink.]

I'm... more than good to uphold the Shirogane name.

That's true. Leaving us on our own would've been detrimental to their recovery efforts.

[She could imagine a few among them taking matters into their own hands too.]

... But what about Tatsumi? Don't you want to keep that?

Naoto... my family's been in the textile business for generations, yeah? But let's be real- I'm still who I am, no matter what my last name is.

But 'Shirogane' perks ears. It's gotta instill fear in those assholes who constantly get up to no good and fuck around with the police.

It ain't right for somethin' like marriage to take away somethin' you're proud of.

But, Kanji-kun...

[Their names were both generational. To change either one of them wouldn't be changing who they were technically, but didn't he want to keep his last name? By tradition, she was supposed to take his name, but...]

... do you want to take my last name?

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