This is Aiba speaking: I highly advise that readers first experience the AI: The Somnium Files games themselves before browsing this page. All spoilers will be left unmarked.
(Aiba is best read with the voice of Erika Harlacher)
(Aiba is dancing to the tune of club music)
Aiba, what are you doing?...
I thought it appropriate to give readers an engaging hook to our page.
So this is TV Tropes. And it looks like we got company.
It seems we are on a "self-demonstrating" page. Date, I suggest you introduce ourselves and our world to the readers.
So these people want to know all about us? Heh, well I guess I don't mind sharing. I'm Special Agent Kaname Date, Tokyo MPD. And this shrimpy girl here with me is my partner, Aiba.
Shrimpy? How rude! I'll have you know that I'm considered quite cute, though I suppose there's no accounting for good taste with Date.
*sigh* Anyway, the two of us are part of a top-secret branch of investigators known as ABIS. It's top secret on account of a little technique we have called "Psyncing".
By psyncing, a "psyncer'' sends a copy of their consciousness into another person's dreamscape. We call this dreamscape a "Somnium". By exploring and unraveling the layers of the Somnium, we discover information that can prove crucial to solving our most difficult cases. Psyncing has proven instrumental to bringing down several serial killers in the years ABIS has been active.
Right, so as for my story, this is where things start to get even more wild. Long ago, I was an ordinary detective who snapped one day and became a contract killer; people back then referred to me as "Falco". One unfortunate event lead to another, and I found myself under the thumb of a real bad mobster, Rohan Kumakura; he wanted me to kill my girlfriend, Hitomi.
It turns out though that the Psync machine has a nifty trick, a psyncer can swap bodies with the person attached. A certain Shizue Kuranushi—or 'Boss' as we all call her—introduced me to ABIS and arranged for me to swap bodies with Rohan. I used him to lock away Falco for good. But in the process, I screwed up bad and almost killed Hitomi; I left her right arm paralyzed...
....
It turns out Rohan was even more trouble than we thought; we learned he was one of two serial murderers called the "Cyclops Killers". I used his looks to track down his partner, a screwed-up punk by the name of Saito Sejima. Saito kidnapped me and forced me to body swap with him. Next thing you know we're both stuck in bodies that aren't ours and with both of our memories gone because he screwed up with his psync machine.
It was thanks to one Shizue Kuranushi, or 'Boss' as we call her, that Date was able to assume his new identity and partake in ABIS as a special agent. Your truly was assigned to be his partner on the field. By my estimations, he'd be ineffective without my aid.
Right...
Oh yeah, I've also got myself a bit of a family since then. There's my kid Mizuki. She even joined ABIS herself and partnered up with Aiba. Then Hitomi's daughter, Iris, and I have been close for a while. She and Mizuki are basically already sisters. It explains why they're such a headache together...
Date is also the agent responsible for tutoring ABIS Special Agent Kuroto Ryuki. How was it you described your relation? "Intimate"?
You talk too much to Mizuki.
Date, it appears we have to read through this list of designated tropes in order to complete our task.
You're serious?... Well, if that's what it takes. Find those mental locks and break 'em, Aiba!
I'm afraid that won't work here.
Trope scan activated!
- Action Dad: Yeah, Mizuki's my kid. She's handy to have around for investigations in case we have any bad guys that need hitting.I advise you find safer activities for family bonding...
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: C'mon, 'embarrassing' seems a bit much.What about the time Mizuki found your porno mags under the rug? Or the times you and Hitomi have shamelessly cuddled in front of her?
- Animal Motifs: Like Mizuki and I always say: Aiba here looks like a big fluorescent shrimp. Hmph! I'm too cute to be a shrimp!
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Date, a porno mag! WHERE?! Just kidding; I was merely testing your reaction speeds. Grrr....
- Aiba, a butterfly! WHERE?! Heh, made you look. Hmph.
- Badass Normal: Hmm, no files suggest that Date has had any case of physical enhancements or biological reconfiguring. The most mundane explanation would be that he's a man in peak condition. Ah, you forget one important thing. "Pornographic superpowers" is not a real condition. You can't prove that!
- Blood Knight: Is it true you tried to beat up Ryuki in his Somnium?... Mizuki favored a more assertive approach to our investigation. I thought it appropriate to honor her wishes. And you have no problem with that? Affirmative. Nothing makes you feel more alive than a little physical exertion. I better bring this up to Pewter...
- Body Surfing: I've been in three different bodies: my original body, and both of the Cyclops Killers. The last transfer is what screwed up my memories.
- Eye Scream: Thanks to that asshole Saito, I lost my left eye. Luckily Aiba is here to serve as my replacement.
- Eyepatch of Power: When Aiba's not around, I like to have this nifty cover on my left socket. You know, ladies love a guy with an air of danger. I find it quite garish personally.
- The Mentor: Ryuki's my charming subordinate. I helped him learn the ropes when he was starting off at ABIS.
- Mistaken for Romance: I recall that you and Ryuki have a "close physical relationship". It's not at all what you're thinking. I suspect he wishes differently.
- Parental Substitute:
- Mizuki's parents were both drinking buddies of mine; her dad, Renju, was the one who entrusted her to me. Kind of a rocky journey with the two of us being family, but I think it worked out in the end. Does that mean you two have reconciled your argument about the dishes? I told her, I'd get to it!
- When I started seeing Hitomi, I met her daughter, Iris. I guess the more I stuck around, she managed to worm her way into my heart. That's a peculiar way to describe an affectionate bond. Ha! Trust me, that girl knows how to hold you under her thumb. Don't underestimate her...
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: In the real world, my physical form can take on the appearance of a robotic hamster. I'm told I look quite adorable in that form. Sure, if you ignore the big, creepy eyeball...
- Snarky Non-Human Sidekick: Tell me about it... I can't go five seconds without getting an earful from this AI in my socket. You're not so modest yourself either.
- Virtual Sidekick: This form before you is a holographic projection of my virtual self. While I can't interact with the physical world, it is useful for relaying information and investigating crime scenes. It is also how I appear in Somnia.AHH! A GHOST!!
