#13 - It's all fun and games, until someone pukes during max centrifugal force..... (Lighthearted Investigator shenanigans in a setting Yukiko's rather inappropriate for. Have fun, enjoy the awkward, and get some exercise! I'll match past/present tense and prose or brackets for all prompts, so lead on with what you want.)
As a matter of course, Yukiko had always excelled in school. No matter what the subject, academics or P.E. alike, she had been a model student--diligent, talented, and intelligent, the envy of many of her peers. Long hours of disciplined study and practice helped her perform the best she possibly could--
--So when this Jaunt dropped them into a sport she'd never played before, let alone practiced..... well, who could blame her for being alarmed, especially when she'd barely had time to learn the rules? Alarmed and anxious, yes--but not scared. She refused to dignify something like this with the idea of real fear, when the stakes they'd played for in other Jaunts had been so much more dire. Even if it was daunting--and potentially dangerous, trying out extreme sports with absolutely no training at all--, in the grand scheme of things, playing sports on television was laughably insignificant. Maybe even the tamest event they'd ever participate in on a Jaunt!
In spite of it all, though, even those well-reasoned reassurances couldn't stop her heart from pounding, or her hands from shaking a little as they gripped the racquets. Sports had never been one of her best subjects.....
They're in this together as a literal team this time, though--everybody is counting on each other to be able to pull off a good game. She can't just let them down because of a little nervousness! So Yukiko stands tall and poised, and makes herself smile instead of focusing on the flutter of nerves and adrenaline, long hair fluttering around her as the walls begin picking up speed in their rotation. Her psychic voice is bright and buoyant over the network, encouraging and optimistic, a quick effort to cheer her friends on even as she tried to psyche herself up. Good luck, everyone! Let's do our best!
#15a - Who is that girl I see, staring straight back at me? Why is my reflection someone I don't know? (Free for all Liminal space interaction, with room for requesting any and every AU you can imagine! Give me some details on what you want to see, and we'll roll with it.)
Before all the trouble in Inaba had started, Yukiko had never really been the type to scare easily, even as a little girl. Strangers weren't scary because they were the guests her family devoted their lives to serving, the darkness wasn't scary because it was never pitch-black--they always left the hall lights on, so guests would stay safe and feel comfortable--, bugs weren't scary because of how funny Chie was when she screamed over something so tiny and harmless, and even things like ghosts weren't scary because she had learned her whole life how to honor and revere them. Why should they be angry or frightening to her, when she'd never been anything but respectful towards them? Maybe she was more anxious than she'd like to be, sometimes, but fear wasn't something Yukiko often had to deal with--
--So it felt terribly strange to walk down hallways of distorted mirrors, ones she might have normally giggled over and played with alongside Chie, and find herself inexplicably and deeply unsettled if she looked too long or hard into some of them. Some of them made her feel sure that her reflections' movements and expressions didn't quite synchronize with her own, some of them didn't seem to be reflecting the same hallway of mirrors she stood in at all, and some of them she swore were looking back out at her.....
By now, she'd had enough experience with other selves to suspect that these reflections probably weren't what they seemed, either. They couldn't possibly be as simple as funhouse illusions, right? But if they weren't, then just what was going on, here? Yukiko leaned in close to study one mirror that had caught her eye, timidly reaching out to touch it.....
#15b - Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who's the..... studliest..... of them all.....? (Specific prompt snippet for Rule 63!Yukiko! Again, talk to me about what you want, and let's make it happen.)
.....And Yuki straightened up only moments later, shaking his head to try and clear away the odd mental haze that had settled over him before taking a look around. What in the world was he doing, just meandering around in some crazy carnival setup by himself and gawking at his own reflections? There was no way he'd be somewhere like this alone! Even if he had apparently wandered off, mentally as well as physically, without realizing it..... that was no excuse for potentially worrying people. Why had they come to some kind of circus, anyway? Who was he with? Where had they even gotten separated?
Hurrying off as he was to find his companions, Yuki paid very little mind to the oddity of the reflections around him. He'd only looked at one mirror closely anyway, before he'd gotten distracted--or was that stopped being distracted?--, and that one was enough to make him marvel at the ingenuity of this exhibit. He made an awfully cute girl, he had to admit--but how in the world could you design a mirror to change the gender of someone's reflection?
#20 - Once upon a time, long, long ago, in a land far, far away..... (Infiltrator, for vague potential fantasy shenanigans--including something Shadow-esque, if you want. It'd be a shame to waste all these princess themes, wouldn't it? Throw your ideas at me.)
These were dangerous times indeed, weren't they? Dangerous times, and dangerous lands. Magic, mystery, menace..... what more could you possibly ask for out of an adventure, in a kingdom thrown into turmoil, save possibly the promise of some peaceful idyllic Happily Ever After in the end?
Thoughts like those were a waste of time, though--this was real life, not a fairy tale, and life didn't work the way things went in some silly story books..... right? It's impossible that you'd find yourself entangled in strange things like a witch said to live in a haunted castle, deep in a dark forest full of fog that never dispersed, or the wild and moonlit lands where werewolves were said to prowl, or..... or, well, any number of other improbable, inconvenient, and no doubt very strange and menacing other circumstances.
Of course, it was possible that you were just sensible (or lucky) enough to have skirted all that nonsense entirely. Life went on, after all, no matter what kind of treachery and intrigue were afoot. People still needed to earn a living, and feed their families. People still bonded and spent time with each other, even if it was hard to know who they could trust. A sudden vacuum of power and authority didn't automatically negate personal history or societal conventions, either. Perhaps you're more mundanely connected to some wealthy noble family, and their sheltered daughter? A personal guard, maybe, or a family member, or a fellow aristocrat of some stripe?
Amagi Yukiko || Persona 4 || OTA || Probably just for funsies
(Lighthearted Investigator shenanigans in a setting Yukiko's rather inappropriate for. Have fun, enjoy the awkward, and get some exercise! I'll match past/present tense and prose or brackets for all prompts, so lead on with what you want.)
As a matter of course, Yukiko had always excelled in school. No matter what the subject, academics or P.E. alike, she had been a model student--diligent, talented, and intelligent, the envy of many of her peers. Long hours of disciplined study and practice helped her perform the best she possibly could--
--So when this Jaunt dropped them into a sport she'd never played before, let alone practiced..... well, who could blame her for being alarmed, especially when she'd barely had time to learn the rules? Alarmed and anxious, yes--but not scared. She refused to dignify something like this with the idea of real fear, when the stakes they'd played for in other Jaunts had been so much more dire. Even if it was daunting--and potentially dangerous, trying out extreme sports with absolutely no training at all--, in the grand scheme of things, playing sports on television was laughably insignificant. Maybe even the tamest event they'd ever participate in on a Jaunt!
In spite of it all, though, even those well-reasoned reassurances couldn't stop her heart from pounding, or her hands from shaking a little as they gripped the racquets. Sports had never been one of her best subjects.....
They're in this together as a literal team this time, though--everybody is counting on each other to be able to pull off a good game. She can't just let them down because of a little nervousness! So Yukiko stands tall and poised, and makes herself smile instead of focusing on the flutter of nerves and adrenaline, long hair fluttering around her as the walls begin picking up speed in their rotation. Her psychic voice is bright and buoyant over the network, encouraging and optimistic, a quick effort to cheer her friends on even as she tried to psyche herself up. Good luck, everyone! Let's do our best!
#15a - Who is that girl I see, staring straight back at me? Why is my reflection someone I don't know?
(Free for all Liminal space interaction, with room for requesting any and every AU you can imagine! Give me some details on what you want to see, and we'll roll with it.)
Before all the trouble in Inaba had started, Yukiko had never really been the type to scare easily, even as a little girl. Strangers weren't scary because they were the guests her family devoted their lives to serving, the darkness wasn't scary because it was never pitch-black--they always left the hall lights on, so guests would stay safe and feel comfortable--, bugs weren't scary because of how funny Chie was when she screamed over something so tiny and harmless, and even things like ghosts weren't scary because she had learned her whole life how to honor and revere them. Why should they be angry or frightening to her, when she'd never been anything but respectful towards them? Maybe she was more anxious than she'd like to be, sometimes, but fear wasn't something Yukiko often had to deal with--
--So it felt terribly strange to walk down hallways of distorted mirrors, ones she might have normally giggled over and played with alongside Chie, and find herself inexplicably and deeply unsettled if she looked too long or hard into some of them. Some of them made her feel sure that her reflections' movements and expressions didn't quite synchronize with her own, some of them didn't seem to be reflecting the same hallway of mirrors she stood in at all, and some of them she swore were looking back out at her.....
By now, she'd had enough experience with other selves to suspect that these reflections probably weren't what they seemed, either. They couldn't possibly be as simple as funhouse illusions, right? But if they weren't, then just what was going on, here? Yukiko leaned in close to study one mirror that had caught her eye, timidly reaching out to touch it.....
#15b - Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who's the..... studliest..... of them all.....?
(Specific prompt snippet for Rule 63!Yukiko! Again, talk to me about what you want, and let's make it happen.)
.....And Yuki straightened up only moments later, shaking his head to try and clear away the odd mental haze that had settled over him before taking a look around. What in the world was he doing, just meandering around in some crazy carnival setup by himself and gawking at his own reflections? There was no way he'd be somewhere like this alone! Even if he had apparently wandered off, mentally as well as physically, without realizing it..... that was no excuse for potentially worrying people. Why had they come to some kind of circus, anyway? Who was he with? Where had they even gotten separated?
Hurrying off as he was to find his companions, Yuki paid very little mind to the oddity of the reflections around him. He'd only looked at one mirror closely anyway, before he'd gotten distracted--or was that stopped being distracted?--, and that one was enough to make him marvel at the ingenuity of this exhibit. He made an awfully cute girl, he had to admit--but how in the world could you design a mirror to change the gender of someone's reflection?
#20 - Once upon a time, long, long ago, in a land far, far away.....
(Infiltrator, for vague potential fantasy shenanigans--including something Shadow-esque, if you want. It'd be a shame to waste all these princess themes, wouldn't it? Throw your ideas at me.)
These were dangerous times indeed, weren't they? Dangerous times, and dangerous lands. Magic, mystery, menace..... what more could you possibly ask for out of an adventure, in a kingdom thrown into turmoil, save possibly the promise of some peaceful idyllic Happily Ever After in the end?
Thoughts like those were a waste of time, though--this was real life, not a fairy tale, and life didn't work the way things went in some silly story books..... right? It's impossible that you'd find yourself entangled in strange things like a witch said to live in a haunted castle, deep in a dark forest full of fog that never dispersed, or the wild and moonlit lands where werewolves were said to prowl, or..... or, well, any number of other improbable, inconvenient, and no doubt very strange and menacing other circumstances.
Of course, it was possible that you were just sensible (or lucky) enough to have skirted all that nonsense entirely. Life went on, after all, no matter what kind of treachery and intrigue were afoot. People still needed to earn a living, and feed their families. People still bonded and spent time with each other, even if it was hard to know who they could trust. A sudden vacuum of power and authority didn't automatically negate personal history or societal conventions, either. Perhaps you're more mundanely connected to some wealthy noble family, and their sheltered daughter? A personal guard, maybe, or a family member, or a fellow aristocrat of some stripe?