☠ - “YOU’RE ONE OF THE MAIN ONES OUT HERE SUPPOSE TO BE KICKIN MY DAMN ASS.”

he lyin

crossxskulled replied to your post: <p>ANN!!! RYUJI HAS A PICTURE OF YOUR BUTT ON HIS...

YEAH! THE EFF? I’D ASK YOU FIRST BEFORE I EVER HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THAT

     Don’t panic--everything’s fine, don’t panic. You can handle this!

     The words filtered through his terrified thoughts on repeat, urging him forward through the dark, blood red gloom that had settled over Inaba. How many problems had they overcome already? One more wasn’t going to suddenly make or break them  Whatever was happening, they’d solve it--even if there was a huge, crimson moon in the sky silhouetting a bizarre black tower that definitely wasn’t there before.

     If he could get in touch with anyone it would be great. Being alone terrified Yosuke to the point he could feel his heart racing and his body beginning to shake. Even Teddie would be welcome at this point; he might be a loud-mouthed, panicky little bear but he would be a much needed companion. Better than shadows and way better than the deafening silence of the sleepy little town.

     The shopping district was creepy enough on a normal night, but there was something haunted about it now. As Yosuke ran through he couldn’t help but think about all the horror movies he watched when he couldn’t sleep, which only fueled his overactive imagination. 

     It’s like a freakin’ zombie apocalypse or something. 

     A small, startled cry slipped out of him as Yosuke ran around an abandoned bus in the middle of the street. Despite wishing to find another person he hadn’t actually been expecting it. Let alone someone he vaguely knew and had, in no shape or form, been expecting.

     “Wait a sec...I know you...” Damn--what was his name again? Ar...Ara...something. That weird guy that volunteered at Junes from time to time.

     “Oh, yeah! Aragaki-san, right? Wh-what are you doing out here...?”

The depths of Mementos were even worse than what surrounded them both, something the Lovers could easily attest to. At least here, the tracks looked like tracks rather than warped bone--and that didn’t even touch on how the walls and floors here looked like stone and mortar instead of flesh and sinew, or how the air felt less thick, opressive... dead, in the same way as morgues or cemeteries. Ann didn’t feel the unease she once did in the earlier floors like the one she’s on, but she knew better than to relax. Since this twisted maze was born of the collective consciousness of Tokyo, after all, it was impossible to know exactly what was ahead.

Shinjiro’s presence was an apt example of that.

"Are you okay?”

For all her posture was fierce and her attire was so dominatrix-esque that it all but commanded obedience, the reality of the matter was that the Lovers wasn’t nearly that hard-hearted. She was the opposite, as a matter of fact--though such didn’t keep her from being careful. Shinjiro could see those blue eyes skim over him from behind her mask, what she saw making her shoulders slacken a bit even as her hand gripped the coiled leather of her whip all the tighter. For all the jokes one could crack  at her appearance, it was clear that she knew how to use it. A couple steps closer and Ann was taking a deep breath. Time to try to be a hero.

“I’m Panther. Do you know how you got here, sir?”

OH HOOOOO MAN, MY EFFIN’ HOMIE

Wait though we gotta give say our graces..

Before the shining pedastal of these two cheeks.

Was it even possible for Shinjiro to smile?

At this point, Rise wasn’t sure... but she was starting to think it was impossible. She’d tried everything she could think of to get the Hanged Man to smile, but so far? Nothing had worked. He’d outright scoffed at her cooking, he’d just rolled his eyes at her jokes--the closest she had come was with that video about the pug that couldn’t run, but even that hadn’t done the trick! As dour as he appeared, the Lovers was beginning to doubt that he actually enjoyed her company at all if it wasn’t for how he hung around in such a way as to make it obvious that he wanted to be around her.

...or did he?

The answer came a few days later, when the two of them had found their way to a rooftop. Just how they got up there was unclear--she’d made a comment about missing the stars that were so easily seen in Inaba, he’d cracked wise about the lights being too bright unless they got on a rooftop. The next thing she knew? He’d popped a lock like it was nothing and guided her through and upward. Sure, the stars weren’t all that much easier to see, but the view was beautiful nonetheless. A sidelong glance and she thought, she swore that the corners of his lips were heading vaguely upward... and something about that compelled her into motion.

“Hey, Shinji?”

He turned his head, a brow faintly raised--but before he could even think to say anything in response? The Lovers was surging upward, her lips pressing to his. At first, he was as still as the bricks comprising the building that they stood atop of... but then it was like a spark was lit within his soul and he was kissing her back like he’d die without it. As his arm wrapped around her and drew her in close, she went willingly, her eyes closing as she melted into his embrace.