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Flamel Parsons     Flamel knows August wants to chat, so he invites him to re-use that old teleporter beacon they set up so long ago at the very top of Maslow Peak. It feels odd. Warmer than before, albeit with a little smattering of flurries. The man himself, Flamel Parsons, is reusing a fire pit they made a while back. The cave that leads into the bunker inside is around here somewhere, but irrelevant. He's just chilling and relaxing on a piece of furniture that somehow mixes portable lawnchair with super-spy-fiction technologies, unfolding into an elaborate hovering seat.

    And of course, Flamel wears his classic MIB two-piece suit. When doesn't he? Only when he can find a different Vague Yet Menacing Government Agency outfit, of course.

    Don't look down. Not because of the great heights of Maslow Peak, of course. Rather, don't look down because right now, of all things, Maslow Peak actually manages to look smaller from the top. It looks like a modest mountain, the kind you might hike up over just a long day. Almost surreal, how different it looks. It's definitely different, geometrically.
August Kohler Something's changed in August Kohler. He knows that for a fact. And while Flamel Parsons is in the Concord, he's also the closest thing to a Multiveral psychologist August knows, even if he's not actually one of those, and someone who can help August understand what's going on with him. And additionally, he told Flamel he'd keep him updated with anything interesting happening to him, so...

August invited Sanary (who was both a witness and generally becoming a friend) to accompany him and be able to give any details he wasn't able to see while he was bleeding out yesterday. Journeying to the teleporter beacon, the redhead is dressed in a thick winter coat, gloves currently off for some reason, revealing that his right hand is covered in burn scars and his left in cog-shaped red command spells, as he moves over towards the firepit, bringing drinks. Three coffees, and a bunch of different additive packets, since August doesn't know how he likes his. (If Flamel and Sanary don't want any, August will drink them, like a maniac)

"Thanks for meeting me here, Flamel. I brought a friend, since she was witness to...well, a major thing that happened yesterday." August takes a moment. He's armed as usual, with his various equipment and mirrored bracelet, which he taps at slowly. "I have something I want to show you. Yesterday, we were fighting my world's embodiment of courage in humanity, and he stabbed me in the chest. He destroyed the Tin Soldier, and I almost died. But something came over me. I didn't want to die. I refused to die. I understood everything."

August draws his combat knife, slowly, and plays with it against his hand. He sounds excited, even if he looks like he might stab...himself? at any moment. "I think I self-actualized." He's going to give Flamel a moment for that to dawn over. He knows Flamel knows exactly what that means.

Sanary probably doesn't. Woops!
Sanary Rondel Normally, Sanary wouldn't even know this strange mountainy area exists. Has she been here before? Who knows. If she has, she probably wouldn't remember it without some prodding anyway. After a few previous excursions to mountainous regions, however, even she knows better than to come underdressed.

So she's wearing two coats on top of each other: The white one over the gray one. It's clunky, bulky, and kind of stupid-looking, but it keeps the heat in well enough!  With August's invitation (and directions), she arrives at the firepit with a bag that smells like fried street food from some Chinatown somewhere.

It's a little drippy. "Hey, August. And... Brrrain guy?" She peers at Flamel while adjusting her eyepatch, squinting and furrowing her brow while she struggles to put a name to the face.

It doesn't take long before she gives up and just listens instead. She chuckles lightly after August finishes, stroking her chin soon after while squatting in place and raising an eyebrow when he busts out the FANCY WORDS.

"That's... Good, yeah? I mean, you're not dead, and your Persona got all... Big and chunky. You feel any different from before?"
Flamel Parsons     Flamel actually laughs a little bit at Sanary. "Flamel Parsons! I'm a Psychonaut. Brain guy will work fine, just so long as I keep being the only Psychonaut really active around you. There's an awful lot of us!" He then looks to August, smiling wide, immediately engaged and interested. "Real honest to goodness self-actualization. It's rare! I was wondering what was up. You've gone somewhere not many people get to." He gestures to Sanary. "Self-actualization is a pretty complicated concept. But, think of it like a conditional super-mode for your mind and identity. It's a state where all your practical and mental needs are met! Which means your brain can dedicate huge amounts of its emotional and mental resources to pursuing goals that don't have anything to do with needs."

    "I wanna take a look at what a self-actualized Persona looks like!" He says, inviting August to take a seat and summon. "But make no mistake here, a stronger Persona isn't the only result. Heck, that's probably the least of the power you get out of that! There's so much more. Self-actualization means you can focus on goals unhindered, whatever those goals are. That means all your problem-solving, all your spare resources, any of the benefits your friendships give you, things like that, you can use 'em all freely!" Half of it's a warning to August, half of it's an explanation to Sanary, who he wants to help know more!
August Kohler August moves to take the seat, when gesturing. "I've got my physiological needs down, my safety needs...I guess I reached my belongingness and esteem as well. I mean, I sometimes don't think people give me enough respect, but whatever, right?" There's probably an immediate change in August in that he's just...so casual. He's not guarding himself like he usually does, choosing his words carefully and playing social games as a mask. Someone who seems happy with himself. "Ah, before I show you the Persona, let me just..."

August takes the knife, and suddenly slices into his hand. No warning. It bleeds after a few seconds, him needing to dig the knife in more than usual to actually cut himself, showing that his skin has gained some resilience. "Sorry about that, but watch."

August lifts up his bleeding hand...and it begins to knit itself back together. Skin rapidly reattaches itself, though his palm remains bloodied, which he moves to wipe off. "I never had abilities without my Persona active before." A nod to Sanary. "I feel better, in a lot of aspects. But I also feel...exhausted. It's like almost dying and reawakening myself drained everything from me. I can do stuff like this, but I don't think I'd do well in a fight without some rest." A pause as he glances at the food. "What do you have in there?"

And then, momentarily distracted, August remembers what Flamel wanted to see. The mirrored bracelet is brought up to eye level, and August stares into it. "Alright, let's go..."

"DIETRICH!"

It is not an aura of blue energy that surfaces, but a grey one, with dark red splotches inside of it, darker than blood. The aura coalesces into a giant mechanical black knight, but instead of looking like a robot, he appears to look like a person in power armor, burning eyes hidden behind a helmet, thrusters and exhaust pipes on the back. He's eight feet tall, with thick armor, and stands in front of the group. In his hands is a massive sword, with rotating chainsaw-like gears on the side. It looks kind of impractical, but based on the fact it's a Persona, it probably works efficiently.

August moves to sip from his coffee, looking up at the black knight briefly. "This is Dietrich. My...awakened Persona, I guess I'd call it. What do you think? Does this seem like self-actualization, possibly?" August is pretty sure, but Flamel's the expert.
Sanary Rondel Flamel, huh? Name's Sanary Rondel. Good to meet ya." Despite her unrefined tone, the healer offers Flamel a practiced and overly formal bow. "Never heard of a Psychonaut before, but... I recognize your voice, yeah." Grinning lightly, she listens to the description of what self-actualization is intently!

It actually makes quite a bit of sense. "Like... If I wasn't worried about food or money, I'd be able to do something like that?" She shakes her head, already shooting that down the moment the thought leaves her mouth. "... no, I've already had that before. Kinda. There's... Somethin' deeper than that, sounds like." As August goes over his needs, she too considers her own.

Food? Sure, she's fed. She holds open the bag of fried stuff to August and Flamel, revealing a whole pile of fried eggrolls, dumplings, shish kebabs, and chicken meat chunks. "It ain't healthy, but it'll do the trick if anyone's hungry!"

Safety? Yeah, the farm's nice enough, although she wouldn't mind having some extra spending money even after that heist. Reputation?

Shit. By the time she considers whatever else could fall under the umbrella of stuff-she-needs, August is halfway into cutting his hand open. "Wh...?! Hey, what'd you-" And then she pauses, taking note of how quickly August's hand is fixing itself. "... Dang. Looks like you're gettin' strong enough you might not even need someone like me around, huh?"

She laughs, and then she slumps a bit while forcing a straight face that's a little (very) too strained to be natural. She tries shaking it off once she spots the Persona from the previous night appearing once more, gawking it at and moving closer to get a better look!

     "It looks like... Somethin', definitely. I like this thing it's got here, too." She gestures at the chainsaw sword, stroking her chin with one hand while slowly reaching towards the churning gears with the other.

She may be trying to stick her hand in it.
Flamel Parsons     Flamel shakes his head at Sanary a bit. "No, no. It's not just food and money. It's wanting things. Or feeling stressed about things you shouldn't feel stressed about. Unjustified anxieties, irrational fears, things like that. When they're resolved, you just... Finally have the bandwidth of your energy open wide!" He eagerly takes one of the eggrolls and starts biting into it.

    He watches with wide eyes, chewing and chewing as he gets to see the effects on August. "See," He says, "Now you can put all your energy into this. This is some /incredible/ vitakinesis. I think once you're less, you know, drained, you should be able to do some impressive stuff. The thing is, this doesn't actually give you /more/ psychic energy to work with. It clears your channels. It's like the difference between an old engine and a well-maintained, tuned engine. You've still got the same fuel!"

    He seems quite eager to examine Dietrich, peering over their form and examining them from all angles. "It's more 'complete'. That's /fascinating/!" He exlaims. "And it's definitely definitely a grander social role. Instead of a soldier, a knight. Like the highest station! Wow -- is that the power armor the Ghost had? No, I get it-- It's drawing unhindered from your creative energies now too! Since there's not blocks on those, it can use the full power from all portions of your mind there." He continues rambling and continues examining until stopped.
August Kohler Sanary moves to touch the sword's extended gears. August sighs, but not angrily, as Dietrich moves to lift the sword above her head, even if the gears aren't already moving, so she doesn't get her hand or wrist caught in them. He's tall enough to just keep it above her. As Flamel investigates, Dietrich doesn't move. It's controlled by August, after all. "I don't think there's too much vitakinesis going on besides that. I know some of my limitations inherently, I'm not immortal for example, just a healer. I think I'm also super strong, but I'm going to test that soon."

August moves his non-bloody hand to grab some eggrolls, while Dietrich remains still even then. "I think I know what I want to do in life, after this. After everything. I was thinking, before, I wanted to be like a knight...and then this happened. My Persona is a knight. It can't be coincidence, can it? It must reflect my desires and goals. Which means...that's the right path for me, at least right now."
Sanary Rondel Sanary's eye narrows slightly as Flamel elaborates on what self-actualization truly means even as she provides the pair with life-sustaining and artery-clogging food, snagging some meat chunks for herself. The expression is not because of anger or annoyance, but more of the realization that she's /never/ going to get rid of any of those things he said.

"... At least I don't have a Persona to not be able to improve with that, then." She laughs that awkward self-deprecating laugh again, teetering a bit until she realizes that Dietrich's raised the blade out of her reach. It's not even hard to keep it out of reach, either, what with the height difference and all.

It's probably for the best.

After not mangling her hand in a chainsword, Sanary resumes inspecting Dietrich alongside Flamel. She doesn't quite know what she's looking at, but... Screw it. IT LOOKS COOL. That's good enough for her. "Vitakiwhas...? Uh. Hmm. So that's your plan now, eh? Ain't a bad plan at all, although..." She strokes her chin while turning to August fully. "I can see you doing bigger things, yeah. But do you see yourself being a knight? All... Prim and proper and covered in armor?"

The healer smirks after a moment. "I mean, now that you got this... Power boost, you have a chance to think about hitting bigger banks for bigger payouts? Or were you thinking of going even bigger than that?"
Flamel Parsons     "Yeah," Parsons says. "Your abilities are usually low-flexibility high-power. For a psychic, it's strange, at least in my world, but it looks like that's how your world is!" He keeps on keeping on with the examinations, stopping by Sanary every so often. "Personas -- that is, you know, the social and psychological thing, not just the fighting thing -- are really useful in a lot of ways. Because it's not just about hiding who you are, it's about deciding who you want to be. Having something like this on the outside can be inspiring to you inside!"

    He explains a bit to Sanary. "It's not just Personas. When you're not anxious or phobic, or things like that, you just get more mental energy to spend on everything in the whole world! And I don't just mean psychokinetic powers, I mean just... thinking! Decisions! Actions! The more you clear, the more you're able to do. That's the real power of self-actualization." He also laughs a bit at Sanary's suggestion. "Well, he could! But I bet he doesn't need all that much money right now, if I'm guessing right. I think he'll go for something that fits his goals, more than being a means to get to them."
August Kohler After the thorough examinations, the pair will determine - Dietrich is huge, his armor is thick, his sword is dangerous, and he looks strong enough to crush a guy with his hands. He's highly intricate, so the 'creative energy' part of the theory may have some merit. Psychically, Flamel can determine that it /feels/ stronger than the Tin Soldier did. It feels more powerful, more complete, just like it looks.

"You're right. It's an image of what I can strive to be. I mean...I don't think I'm some sort of ubermensch now, that's probably stage three where I lose all my fears and sorrows and hateful memories and emotions." August is being kind of sarcastic about becoming an ubermensch, he doesn't seem to actually expect that to be a thing. "But I feel like I'm on top of the world."

And then a turn to Sanary, with a slight frown, before just smiling wide as he considers. "Sanary, we don't need to rob banks. Money is nice, but what does that do for us besides, well, give us money? We can make /changes/ to the worlds out there. Destroy tyrants, save princesses, slay dragons. I don't want to be some stuffy golden knight. I want to be a knight who fights for those who can't fight for themselves. I want to be someone who makes changes for them. I want to be an inspiring leader, one who has the back of his people."

There's a perfect point there for August to go 'join me', but he doesn't. He considers it, briefly, but Sanary must be non-factional for a reason, right? He trusts her again, though, especially after a sitdown like this, where she came, where she's had his back. To Flamel, August just thinks, and says to him confidently.

"I talked to one of your directors. She convinced me I don't know what real justice is. I'm going to find out, and I'm going to try and bring justice to the people of the Multiverse. Dietrich is going to be my weapon to do so." A consideration, before he slightly sheepishly says, "I've been reading Thomas Hobbes, to that effect. Trying to learn what the greats say about justice. I've found a knightly code of conduct I aspire to, too...I think I've changed."
Flamel Parsons     "Exactly! Having a direction to go to helps you move in the first place. That's the important part of a persona in the traditional sense of the word." Parsons says, levitating to get a better look from above at the Persona. "Really, it's sort of ironic that you're the one who directs the Persona instead of the other way around." He also gestures around. "You feel like you're on top of the world for a good reason!" They are, after all, at the top of a mountain! "Sooner or later, though, you'll realize the best part, which is that the climb up to being on top of the world was never as tough as you thought. And so when things happen and you fall back down a little bit, it's all the easier to go right back up to the peak."

    He then considers the words of the directors. "Ohhhh, you must have talked to Yuuki! Great girl. You should take that advice! I think that's a good goal. If I were you I'd make sure you keep Hobbes balanced with a little Rousseau too. But keep it going! It's good to know and to learn about these things. It's a good change, a good growth, man. Thinking back to how you were back when we had to start this business, back when I was having to do the stress-cleans, you've come a heck of a long way! Be proud of what you've done."^r
Sanary Rondel "Aah, I get it. Like a... Not being distracted by things like not wanting to break your arms when you go all out on punching someone! But... Longer term, I guess?" Sanary's doing some fishing mentally, but it's starting to make some sense to her. Not a lot, but every little bit counts!

"Uberwha?" Damn big words. Still, that more upbeat outlook from August has Sanary grinning again as she moves over to clap a hand on his back firmly. "Ah, that's the spirit. You just got a big boost in your Persona! Could probably punch fires into stuff now instead of just shooting it. Or punch a.. Bunch of smaller guys that shoot fire at stuff." She gestures vaguely with her hands for emphasis.

Gesticulating is hard.

"We don't?" Back to being confused. She's about to open her mouth to offer her own counterpoints as August explains his ideals, his goals, his desires on how to use his newfound power, and she just chuckles and nods approvingly instead.

He's earned it by now. "... Yeah, I getcha. Doin' a hell of a lot better at it than you used to, that's for sure."

When he speaks of Flamel's directors, she turns her attention to the Psychonaut once more. "Haven't heard that name in a while... I didn't know she was one of them Psycho..."

... Psychostros? Psychlists? Psycho... "... Paths?" ABORT. EVASIVE MANEUVERS. "Uh. S-SO. What's this about a Hobbesseau? I enjoy their... Too."

That mountainside is looking mighty enticing right around now.
August Kohler There's just a better view of Dietrich from above, and he tilts his head up, controlled by August, to look at Flamel. Unlike the Tin Soldier, it's far more like an actual person. "Yeah, I talked to Kuran. It was...enlightening. Once I understand what justice is, I'm going to tell her. Rousseau, huh? I know the name but haven't read his works. I'll do so." August nods when Flamel mentions how far he's gone.

"It's been a while. And I'm stronger for it. I think part of having a Persona is my bonds. Bonds help with your psychological state, having solid friendsships, so..."

Yeah, if we were still tracking that, that'd be a Social Link Up for Flamel and Sanary!

A laugh in Sanary's direction, as she's kind of clumsy with her words and even more clumsily tries to hide it. He doesn't seem to be bothered by the physical showing at all. "They're political theorists. Basically, guys who talk about politics and human nature. Justice, that kind of thing. I'm learning their perspective so I can forge my own."

And then, letting Dietrich remain summoned, August moves to actually eat his egg roll and drink his coffee. This is nice. And they're learning who he is. Yesterday was probably the most important day of his life...for the better, and only so far.