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[12:26] <Hideki> There were positives to having an entire shower to oneself. Hideki showered, dressed, carelessly styled his hair, and splashed on Ji-Hu's favorite cologne to a blaring pop-music playlist, and there was no one in the world to stop him! He sang along too, off key, butchering the lyrics. -
[12:29] <Hideki> He made a quick stop at his room to drop off his shower stuff, grab his keys and jacket, and then he danced his way downstairs to the lobby. It was nearly the agreed-upon time…
[12:41] <PersonaGM> [Ji-Hu was waiting in the lobby, sitting in an armchair, one long leg folded over the other. She wore a silky, dark red evening dress that hung off at the shoulder; as it descended down her body, the colour became slowly darker until it was nearly black at the hem, which fell to just above her knee. She wore a pair of nearly black high heels on her feet, and over her shoulders she wore a sheer, lacy shawl thrown loosely so that it hung down over her arms.-
[12:41] <PersonaGM> [As he made his way downstairs, Ji-Hu perked up, turning her head slightly to look at him. "Hmhm."]
[12:47] <Hideki> "Hmhm yourself." Hideki sashayed over, did a little twirl, and then leaned in for a kiss. He was was wearing dark blue dress pants and a simple white button-up shirt. The jacket he'd draped over his arm was light brown one. Faux leather. "Ready for the red carpet?"
[12:48] <PersonaGM> [Ji-Hu kissed him; this close, Hideki could smell the faint floral, slightly spicy perfume on her skin. "Absolutely~" She stood up and held her arm out for him to take.]
[12:50] * Hideki did, gladly. "Don't wait up, Miss Asahina," he called out as he began to escort Ji-Hu to the door.
[13:02] <PersonaGM> ["I won't."-
[13:02] <PersonaGM> ["So. What are we going to see?" Asked Ji-Hu as they left the dorm. The evening spring air was pleasantly warm and welcoming.]
[13:07] <Hideki> "I'll give you a hint. It involves explosions~"
[13:08] <PersonaGM> ["Oho, explosions~"]
[13:13] <Hideki> "It's also part of a long-running world-famous franchise." He had called a cab in advance. It was waiting for them on the curb in front of the dorm. Walking was fun, but this was a date and she was wearing heels and stuff.
[13:19] <PersonaGM> [Perfect. Ji-Hu hopped into the cab.-
[13:20] <PersonaGM> ["So it's Black Panther?"]
[13:25] <Hideki> "M-maybe. Just be surprised, okay?" Hideki climbed in after her and gave the driver their destination. All of the hard work he'd put in messing around with customers at that music shop and beating up mental projections in other dimensions suddenly seemed worth it. She was in a good mood, and was coming out of the dorm for a change, and everything was gonna be perfect.
[13:35] <PersonaGM> [The trip to Satomi Lane was uneventful, peppered with incidental talking and best of all, the warm, adoring glances of his girlfriend.-
[13:38] <PersonaGM> [Satomi Lane Cinema did decent business regardless of the time of day or week, but it seemed especially busy tonight. Lots of folks seem excited about Black Panther…]
[13:44] <Hideki> Of course, people would also be excited for Duker VI too, right? Explosions~ Hideki happily queued up, glancing over at Ji-Hu's reaction.
[13:55] <PersonaGM> [As did Ji-Hu.-
[13:55] <PersonaGM> ["Hmm… Are we not seeing Black Panther?"]
[14:00] <Hideki> "Heh. Surprise! Everyone's seeing Black Panther this weekend. So I figure we could see something different."
[14:04] <PersonaGM> ["Oh…?"]
[14:10] <Hideki> "Yeah! Explosions? Awesome one-liners? Boat chases, martial arts, bears, princesses and ski resorts?" He gestured to a nearby poster where all of these things were displayed. 'Duker VI: The Princess Fried' was scrawled across it in gaudy bright red letters.
[14:13] <PersonaGM> [Ji-Hu stared at the poster.-
[14:13] <PersonaGM> [Then her eyes widened. "Ooooh! I missed this one! No one told me the new one was out!"]
[14:16] <Hideki> "Because it was overshadowed by you know what." He jerked his head at the Black Panther poster, which was sleek and minimalist in comparison. "You're welcome, by the way~"
[11:57] <PersonaGM> ["Hm, so I am~"-
[11:58] <PersonaGM> […-
[12:05] <PersonaGM> ["This is where we found Perkins- in a vat of oil." "Damnit, what clues do we have, Tobey?" "Someone saw an extremely tall woman nearby." "Alright." "She was riding a black horse… And she kicked a poor person." "Who could it be?" "Duker, we've got the results back. Perkins… Perkins wasn't just battered. He was fried." "… It all makes sense! It's the Fried Princess of Friesland! To the Dukerboat, Tobey!"-
[12:05] <PersonaGM> […-
[12:06] <PersonaGM> ["Perkins was the best man at my third wedding, even though he was right all along that Clarissa was a murderous sex bot out to kill me. I will see justice done, come hell or high oil!"-
[12:06] <PersonaGM> […-
[12:08] <PersonaGM> ["Why did you do it, Princess? Perkins was a good man who hurt nobody!" *sound of grenade smashing into a car* "Don't you understand yet, fool? Perkins got in the way of my destiny, and the destiny of all of Friesland!" "What vile scheme do you have planned?!" "Friexit. We'll leave the European Union… And then no one can stop us from seizing the North Sea Oil! Then we'll rule the world!" "YOU'RE INSANE, PRINCESS!" "AHAHAHAHAHA!" "YOU CAN'T FRY PETROLEUM!" "Fool! No one tells me what I can't do with oil!"-
[12:08] <PersonaGM> […-
[12:10] <PersonaGM> ["How bitterly ironic, that someone so dedicated to murdering people in large mobile vats of heated vegetable oil carted around by a semi-trailer… Would be murdered by her own rampaging horse."-
[12:10] <PersonaGM> […-
[12:12] <PersonaGM> ["DUKER WILL BE BACK IN DUKER VII: THE BEST OF BOTH MOLDS."-
[12:12] <PersonaGM> […-
[12:12] <PersonaGM> [Ji-Hu had laughed, cheered and whooped throughout the entire movie. As it wrapped up, she sat back in her seat and radiated contentment.-
[12:13] <PersonaGM> [She was practically buzzing on the way out of the theatre. "-And that part where Duker fired a grenade at one wall, ricocheted it off another, bounced it off a corner, then off the angle of an old man's hat and into the evil henchman Eventask's mouth? Classic Duker!"]
[12:21] <CakeyCake> "I know, right?! And the thing he said right before it went off…" He struck a pose, mimicking the hero in his finest hour right down to the wry intonation. "'You want fries with that?'"
[12:27] <PersonaGM> ["Yes!" Ji-Hu cackled. "Also, that mountaintop fight in the penultimate act, atop Peak Oil?"]
[12:31] <CakeyCake> "Never thought I'd be so impressed by seeing an entire mountain catch on fire, but well, here we are!"
[12:35] <PersonaGM> ["It even got a little political too, like when Duker's hallucinogen grenade made the horse turn directly at the camera and say 'Brexit was a mistake orchestrated by selfish capitalists attempting to solidify their neoliberal agenda over Britain'!"]
[12:38] <Hideki> "Of course a movie this brilliant is gonna have a subtle message behind it." Hideki nodded sagely. "It's one of the things that makes it so great!"
[12:41] <PersonaGM> [Ji-Hu laughed. She moved a little closer, her arm in his, and rested her head on his shoulder. "You're just relieved you picked well."]
[12:42] <Hideki> "You think I was worried? I knew this was a good pick!"
[12:43] <PersonaGM> ["Of course~ Still, let's check out the other movies available. This was fun, we need to do it more often."]
[12:46] <Hideki> "We could come back next week," Hideki suggested.
[12:46] <PersonaGM> ["We could." Ji-Hu eyed a nearby poster. "We could see Black Panther… Or Fifteen Shades of Rei, maybe?"]
[12:48] <Hideki> "Kinky~~" Hideki winked and nudged her. "Sounds complicated, though. Fifteen protagonists in one movie…?"
[12:51] <PersonaGM> ["Real life has billions of protagonists." Said Ji-Hu sagely.]
[12:54] <Hideki> "Deep," Hideki remarked, pulling out his wallet and peeking inside. "Deeper than the Mariana Trench."
[12:54] <PersonaGM> ["A chasm almost as empty as your wallet?"]
[12:57] <Hideki> "I'll have you know that unfathomable treasure lie at the bottom of this wallet. I have an tire trip's worth of cab fare in here!"
[12:57] <PersonaGM> ["Oho, handsome and rich."]
[13:04] <Hideki> "Why thank you." Hideki straighened his jacket with the utmost dignity and offered Ji-Hu his arm again. Unfortunately, there wasn't much cash left over for food and drinks… so they'd have to go back to the dorm to relax and have fun.
[13:13] <PersonaGM> ["Hm~"-
[13:15] <PersonaGM> [But Ji-Hu was still eyeing the poster. "I know everyone seems to get caught up on the erotic stuff in Fifteen Shades, but there's chatter online about its cultural stuff… Basically, people treat the clones as interchangeable and as disposable, but each of them is more than just a way to satisfy urges. Each of them demand their own stories be seen…"]
[13:16] <Hideki> "Wait… did you read the book they based this thing on?"
[13:17] <PersonaGM> ["Did you?"]
[13:22] <Hideki> "Nah, never really looked like my thing. Would you recommend it?"
[13:26] <PersonaGM> ["I haven't read it either. Just listened to what other people say."-
[13:26] <PersonaGM> ["… I'm gonna go back to school this week full time."]
[13:27] * Hideki blinked. Well that was sudden! "You sure…?"
[13:32] <PersonaGM> ["Yep." Said Ji-Hu. "Look, it shouldn't be up to me to fix the problems back at school. People like Asaka and his cronies are shirking their responsibilities, and it's their responsibility to be better. But there's people at school who are trying, and people who are hurting, and I think… This week gave me time to rest, and ready myself to take it all on."]
[13:38] <Hideki> "Man…" Hideki tucked his hands into his pockets. "Now's I'm starting to wonder who's stronger. You or Duker…"
[13:41] <PersonaGM> ["P-Pfft." Ji-Hu snorted, but she was blushing nonetheless.]
[13:44] <Hideki> "I'm kind of worried, though," he admitted. "It was rough before. Are you sure you're okay to jump back in?"
[13:46] <PersonaGM> ["If I stay much longer, my schoolwork'll start taking hits. I can't let them just grab whole handfuls of my life away from me, can I? It's mine, after all."]
[13:50] * Hideki sighed. "What do you need me to do? You'll need support, right? Should I walk you to your classes?"
[13:53] <PersonaGM> ["If it comes to that, I'll ask for it, ok?" Said Ji-Hu. "Just do what you've done so far. Be available. And if you hear guys in your classes talking shit about people who've been targeted, sort them out. Preferably with your clothes on, though…"]
[14:04] <Hideki> "Hey, don't take all the fun out of it," he grinned. "But fine. Just do what I've been doing…"
[14:04] <PersonaGM> [Ji-Hu snuggled into his side a little more. "Yup. Just be your perfect self."-
[14:05] <PersonaGM> ["Now… Let's head home. The sooner the better."]
[14:08] <Hideki> "Right, right. Let me call you a chariot." Hideki pulled out his phone. Relaxing the rest of the night at home didn't sound so bad. The calm before the storm…
[14:17] <PersonaGM> [ The Star Arcana Deepens…]