This can only end in NO TEARS. (Closed)

[browbeater]

WHO: Mako (browbeater) and Souji (tarotcards)
WHERE: An isolated part of the beach
WHEN: September 16th
WHAT: Fire training! Or training in general.
WARNINGS: Injuries later! Will amend for more if it becomes necessary.

[His fire was still, frustratingly, giving him trouble. The accidental burning had decreased at least, but Mako still only felt it was partway under his control. He couldn't get it to work when he wanted, and he wasn't the best at controlling the strength... it was often far, far too weak.

It was hard pinpointing exactly what triggered it. He knew anger did, and he could vaguely feel the flow of energy through his body in a way he hadn't before. But it was still difficult, so when Souji had proposed training together, Mako didn't mind. Having an outside perspective probably would help?

Probably.

But honestly? It was a good chance for them to get caught up after the previous month. He glanced around the empty beach.]

How did your friend even find this? I thought spots like this were going extinct.

Comments

[tarotcards]

Then maybe you can get better at it if you practice developing your chi.

[ Souji will then bring out his phone right now to google some stuff. Hmmm ]

Aren't breathing exercises involved with building your chi?

[browbeater]

Sounds very... feng shui. [he shrugs, but then glances down at his hands.]

There are some things I'm starting to remember, but it's like trying to recall a movie you haven't seen since you were a kid, and it didn't make the biggest impression on you, so you're only slowly getting it back.

[tarotcards]

I completely understand. That's how it was for me as well but the more you do it, the more that will come back to you or the more you'll get used to. You just have to keep on trying to mimic whatever you remember.

Or you can try some of the stuff here.

[ souji has pulled up a video of some tai chi moves?? close enough??? ]

[browbeater]

[well... it looks similar, but it's not quite. He can't place it, but it's better than nothing, he supposes? The only other thing he could think of would be to look at like. king Fu or something, get real Bruce Lee with it. He shrugs.]

It looks close enough. Maybe we should look up some old martial arts films later?

[at any rate, he can remember the intro to at least one form. So he's going to try it now.]

[tarotcards]

Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movie night?

[ because souji is DOWN FOR THAT but he'll stand a bit over to the side to observe]

But let's see what else you got. Use me as a target if you need to.

[browbeater]

You sure?

[he looks a little unsure at that, actually. Souji had dealt with it fine in the thick of things, but Mako was pretty sure that people should... probably not be set on fire like that.

He pauses in his form and glances over at Souji.]

[tarotcards]

Yeah, though you might want to aim for just my head or my hands. My clothes aren't fireproof like I am.

[ don't worry, bro, souji will be okay right now but wait till he swaps his persona later and finds out the hard way that he needs to have mada as his "main" persona to avoid fire damage hahaha shit ]

Having a target will make it easier to direct your focus at something.

[browbeater]

Persona?

[honestly... he sounds a little amused. He'd fight more if he hadn't seen it in action already.]

I guess I've already set you on fire once before...

[tarotcards]

Yeah, Mada keeps me immune to fire. It's pretty handy for times like these.

[ like when your bff needs a fire target but souji will walk a few steps away from mako and then stand facing him with his arms spread apart, hands open wide. aim for either hand or his head, bro, it's all good ]

[browbeater]

Alright. No promises about your clothes, but I'll try.

[he just isn't confident enough that he can aim that well yet. But he's gonna try. He closes his eyes for a moment and then, the form he flows through-- the one he can actually remember-- ends with a fireball coming off his hand at Souji's head.

It's definitely not tai chi. But close enough.]

[tarotcards]

[ he shuts his eyes as the fireball comes straight for his head and... yep! he's perfectly fine. in fact, he looks a bit better than before? fire heals him so his skin looks... really nice right now. personas are amazing ]

That was pretty good. And my skin feels good too.

[browbeater]

You had to make sure I knew about your skin, huh?

[he approaches him, just to examine and make sure he was okay. But he could tell from a distance he was fine, so that was more for his skeptic's heart than anything else.]

So that's the one thing I've got down. I sort of remember the start of a few other things, if you're still okay with being a target?

[tarotcards]

[ look at his beautiful clean skin, mako, look at it and enjoy it. ]

Sure. I have a few cuts on my hands so it'd be nice to get those healed up.

[ aka just do whatever, man. souji can benefit from this free healing ]

[browbeater]

[he rubs the back of his head. Good chance to practice accuracy, and he could do it in a way that didn't hurt anyone. Verified twice, at least? So, he nods.]

The chances of these working are 50-50. I still don't remember them that well.

[but now he's stepping back, and like last time, he manages to produce flame, but it's weak, and the form's not as tight.]

[tarotcards]

It's all right. I cleared out the rest of my day so you can take as much time as you need until we get it to 100-0. Or at least 55-45.

[ he would hope it's more than 55-45 but!! he's cheering for you, mako, try again!! ]

[browbeater]

[look, he's trying, but it's really hard. And it's kind of obvious he still doesn't have the fire completely under his control. Sometimes, it comes off weak, other times, it's just entirely too strong? And the differential occasionally knocks him off balance. But it's obvious that he's trying, and that he's thinking hard about the forms.

Maybe too hard.

Maybe he needs to chill out and let it come, but who knows. It's not like he has a real mentor here.]

55-45 would be good enough for me at this point.... [a sigh]

[tarotcards]

[ After they give it a few more tries, Souji will just walk up to Mako and pat him on the shoulder. ]

Hey, don't take it too hard on yourself. You'll get it eventually, I know it.

[browbeater]

[a glance over at Souji, and at least he's smiling, even if he looks a little tired from constantly Trying so much. He knows he was good at this in his previous life, but now he's just... not.]

Thanks.

How long did it take you for your persona?

[tarotcards]

[ Souji will be Mako's #1 cheerleader to make sure that Mako doesn't give up. ]

For my first one, it took maybe a month and a half? Then for the second, it took a month. For the one I just got, it should probably take the same amount of time?

[browbeater]

[Souji.... you're a pal, especially as he struggles through this.... He looks a little impressed.]

You have more than one? And you just got another one?

[tarotcards]

Yeah, I just got my third one about two weeks ago. Based on the times I've gotten each one, I think I'll be getting a Persona every other month.

[ which is true because i want him to get 10381910 personas during his run here ]

Want to see my new one?

[browbeater]

Uhhh... Sure. A break wouldn't be bad.

[and admittedly... he's kind of curious about them. It's not every day that you run into someone with monsters? demons? personas? that they can project. So, he wants to know.]

They have names, right?

[tarotcards]

Yeah, Mada's the one you saw before and Kohryu is a large dragon. I don't know what this one is called though, not until I get a memory of it.

[ but okay, time to show him this sweet persona and Die soon from Fire. the blue tarot card appears out of nowhere as usual but instead of crushing it, he spins it, changing its image from mada to sraosha. he then crushes it and his new persona appears, hovering over him. ]

He looks like he's magic-orientated.

[ probably because of the scroll and all ]

[browbeater]

[it's ok to be a little in awe, right? Because that's what Mako is. He's just in awe. The concept of a persona is... Weird, but kind of cool? Especially with that summoning. It's all very artsy. And all very close to Dying From Fire, soon.]

They don't trigger memories when you get them, do they?

[he rests his hand on his hip, and then focuses back on Souji]

Do you know what he can do yet?

[tarotcards]

[ i can't wait until souji Dies From Fire and mako has a meltdown hahaha puns make everything better ]

I think summoning them triggers a memory of when I first fused them in my other life, but that's about it.

[ since that's how he got back the memories of mada and kohryu's fusion ]

Not completely. I know that he can use some sort of talisman-based attack but I still need to practise with him to find out.

[ talisam-based attack = mahamaon ]