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megaten: akira kurusu

[OPEN] 1/1: Personal Shadow Event

SHAPESHIFTER

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→ PART ONE: REAL WORLD

On the morning of January 1st, someone wakes up in Akira Kurusu’s bed. It’s not Akira Kurusu. It looks exactly like him, talks with his voice, reads as him at a cellular and spiritual level on any supernatural or mundane tests. But it’s not Akira Kurusu.

During the daytime of the 1st and 2nd, he calls in sick to whatever work obligations he may have that day, and then leaves. On the first day he heads into town, making a point to avoid any other Persona-users he sees. There is definitely some picking fights with villagers who offend him, which is not unusual for Akira as of late, and the NPCs will complain to each other and the Persona-users about that awful boy with the glasses. On the second day, he will instead fuck off willingly into the ice-cold wilderness, looking around the mountains.

Things get worse during Lockdown. Both nights, the Nasty Crimeboy can be found skulking around town during Lockdown instead of in the dungeons like usual. He’s deliberately being stealthy and covering his tracks, even though the only people who are here to see him are a bunch of children who collectively share three brain cells, and Rio. On the first night he breaks into shops and takes their inventory, ostensibly for the purpose of obtaining things he needs that the villagers refuse to sell to him. Seamsters are missing a few winter garments, blacksmiths are down a pair of very high quality daggers and a sword, and the one gun shop in town is missing some of its stock of ammo — some for handguns, but some for other kinds too, so it’s not immediately apparent who took them. If someone checks Akira’s car in the Velvet Room after Lockdown, however, they will find the stolen goods hidden in various spots there.

Sometimes he gets in… other places. On the second night, both the mayor’s house and the police station are broken into. The mayor’s house is almost comedically simple to enter, because he has very little in the way of home security, and what he does have is completely useless during a Lockdown where he’s not physically there. Either way, the Crimeboy mostly takes any cash he can find from the mayor as well as valuables that could be inconspicuously sold to the shady folks who peddle phosphorus.

The station is unfortunately better protected, so eventually the Crimeboy realizes he has little option but brute force — so he locates the police chief’s office from the outside, and uses Mara to smash a hole in that wall. (The crash can be heard by any Persona-using prisoners who happen to be in the station at this time.) The next morning, the chief’s office looks like a tornado came through it. All cash and valuables either stolen or destroyed, all locked drawers or containers picked open, and so on. The chief’s desk has had everything knocked off of it onto the floor, and the word ROTTEN is carved deeply into the top of the wooden desk.

After Lockdown on the morning of January 3rd, the boy is nowhere to be seen or detected. You start to think that maybe something is wrong.

→ PART TWO: METAVERSE

School dungeon, third floor.

The entire floor is still on fire, but now there’s a new reason — lightning bolts. There is no rain; they just come down from the smoking skies. They strike environment, Persona-user, and Shadow alike, and become more and more frequent as you approach the palace. Some of the Shadows and FOEs are now on fire, having been struck by the bolts; their HP is lower, but their Attack is higher, and every hit has a chance of additional Fire damage. Any semblance of order that the FOEs may have had is gone, and they are now running around and attacking indiscriminately.

KOPPA TENGU
Type Shadow	Resists Wind	Weak Dark
These Tengu-based Shadows will flee once they see any sight of danger, including (especially) the lighting bolts. This means they tend to stay at the start of the floor, where the bolts are less common. They will fly high into the air and blow people away by conjuring large gusts of wind with their wings. They don't have a lot of attacks and their defense is low, so they are easy enough to defeat, assuming that they don't fly away first. Curiously enough, none of the other Shadows or F.O.E.s pay them much attention... A Tengu mask and a blank scroll can be collected as loot.

CHIMERA
Type F.O.E.	Null Fire, Light	Weak None
Larger than any other Shadow, these F.O.E.s act as guards of the dungeon. While the Shadows are the disposable troops that wander the area and simply attack whomever they see, the F.O.E.s specifically seek out intruders and attack with the sole purpose of killing them. They lurk throughout the dungeons, using their many eyes and noses to track down Persona users and charge without hesitation when they spot one. Also, they are on fire. Their physical strength is tremendous and a single swipe of their mighty paws or talons will surely knock out anyone who hasn’t been keeping up with their training. They are unaffected by fire or light-based attacks and they have no weaknesses. If a Chimera is on fire, its HP is not reduced at all, but its Attack is still higher and there’s still a chance of burn if it hits you. You might be strong enough to take them on, but these things are no joke…

Even from a distance, it becomes obvious that the palace is also on fire. Lightning strikes this building more than anywhere else. The gates around the palace have transformed, each stake now looking like the ribcage bone of some giant creature curling out from the ground. The gate itself hangs open and unattended.

There’s smoke pouring out of the palace windows, and the tallest tower has fallen off, lying in a blazing heap in the courtyard below. Investigating this tower will take you to the empty boss room where the Daitengu used to be, but there’s nothing of note there. The front entrance of the palace itself is clearly where you need to go; forget about sneaking in the side, because the front doors have transformed into an accursed portal, the strange obsidian-like material creeping into the stone walls like a virus.

Upon entering, the interior of the palace has changed drastically, and there’s nowhere to go but down. There is only one spiral path apart from a straight drop down the middle; it’s a very long one that leaves you in an indefensible position, and hiding in the darkness, the tobi tengu are all waiting to ambush you from land and air. Sometimes if you look over you can see their eyes staring from within a spinal column.

TOBI TENGU
Type Shadow	Resists Light, Wind	Weak Ice
Although they are solidary creatures, this Shadow is accomplanied by smaller versions of itself. It strays away from the other packs of Shadows and spends its company with a minimum of one to a maximum of three mini-versions, flying around the lower depths of the dungeon. It doesn't attack characters directly. Instead, it uses its mini-versions to cast a wide range of status ailments that either causes team members to fight among themselves or hinders their progress, such as sleep, confusion, charm, or rage. After you are incapacitated, it will rush in with Dark-based attacks, but as soon as you are able to snap out of your afflictions, it will retreat and send its minions to immobilize you and your team once more. A Tengu mask and magical healing leaves can be collected as loot. The masks they wear and drop are different than normal, but Crow’s is by far the most common.

If you can make it past all the birdfolk and ominous skeleton imagery, you’ll reach the bottom, where that awful orange glow comes from. It’s a vague approximation of Tokyo, where the sky is searing orange and all of the buildings are built out of that same black and red-veined obsidian material. There are giant bones sticking out of the ground and snaking through buildings, reaching up into the sky, some of them even taller than the full size skyscrapers around them. Somewhere in this hellhole, if you search for long enough, you’ll find a boy in a long black coat…

→ PART THREE: NOTES

⬥ ICly, this dungeon appears on January 1st, and one way or the other the event will conclude by the 5th, though of course you can backtag and fit things into this span of time.
⬥ There are certain conditions that must be achieved for this event's good ending. Failing to meet these conditions will not result in Akira's ego-death; rather, it will result in Joker becoming a permanent fixture of the game.
⬥ Since Joker and Akira share a body, any damage Joker sustains will of course affect Akira long-term as well. Killing Joker is not recommended.
⬥ The Nasty Crimeboy will be evasive and try to get out of all conversations with others as quickly as possible, but if you would like to speak to him, let me know and we can set up a toplevel.
⬥ Ganba, everyone.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It hasn't been a great night since Lockdown started. Terry started looking and sounding like Kano and it's no stupid illusion. Anyway, the third is when Terry finally realized that Akira has gone missing after hearing about how "he" trashed the police station. He'll save it for later, but lightning strikes have been no problem for him. He doesn't smell like cinnamon anymore, and it doesn't take too long to locate Shadow Joker after getting through the weirdness that the school dungeon has been subjected to. ]

Akira.

[ He could do it right with Niko, but only because he related so much with her problems despite being nothing alike. He's not sure if he can pull things off with Shadow Joker, but he wants to try and try really hard not to mess it up.

It's just him and Shadow Joker right here in the middle of odd buildings under an orange sky. ]

[When someone calls out, the boy turns around, with a look on his face like he already wants to protest something — and Terry may notice those golden eyes glowing defiantly — but once he gets a look at who's actually speaking, that complaint about names dies quickly. Without the cinnamon cloud, this looks for all the world like Kano... but it can't be Kano, because Kano is dead. And if Shadow Joker had ever made a cognitive construct of Kano, he would definitely know.]

...Who are you?

[Because you're not Shuuya Kano. He steels himself, scowling, putting that brave face back on.]

Edited 2020-01-01 22:47 (UTC)

It's Terry.

[ It's the usual "Kotengu magic" aka bonuses, but he's not here to talk about that and he's not here to hide about who he is either. He's certainly not a zombie Kano or anything. He could have said that he was anyone because maybe Akira still had problems with him, but no. ]

I didn't want to wait for this to wear off to come here as soon as I found out, because I don't know how long this will last.

As soon as you found out? It took you two days to find out?

[He's not going to just believe that it's Terry right off the bat, especially with an opener like that. Joker stuffs his hands into his pockets, and his expression goes from mild annoyance to active distrust.]

Terry has pinpointing. Try harder. Who are you?

[ Sorry, Akira. Kouhai hasn't noticed you earlier. Terry just gives him a look of disbelief and shoves his hand into his pocket that has his omamori inside it, summoning Vassago behind him. That should be all the proof he needs. ]

Well, apparently, you were there. Not you, but another you. That's why my regular headcount wasn't off. That "you" apparently closed himself off from everyone and hid himself away and did some stupid shit like destroying the mayor's office and the police station when nobody was looking.

[Vassago coming out is enough to prove Terry's identity to him — since the only other people who could do that are Minato and Souji, and they don't give two shits about these dungeons. But that story...]

...Seriously?

And you people just accepted that fake as us? You're literally walking up to me wearing the face of a dead dude, and you just did your cursory fucking check and figured, yeah, shit, if he's destroying buildings then there's probably nothing to worry about?

[Joker wasn't immediately enraged at Terry's entrance, because all the things about Terry that are aggravating belong to Akira, not him. But this? This pisses him off.]

This literally just happened several hours ago when I wasn't in town. I heard about it when I got back later. You're the one who told me not to use in-depth pinpointing on you and I agreed. I only use it for quick headcounts, but that's all regarding pinpointing and you. Even though you were closed off, people trusted you enough that you wouldn't go off and do reckless things if we left you alone.

[ Please chill before you jump to conclusions--but Terry can't say that outright. Every time there's a Shadow and he calls them out on shit, it never works out well. So all he can really do is just stand there and take it. ]

...So this dude showed up two days ago. He was a perfect angel and sat in our room quietly for a day and a half, and then just last night decided to go on a rampage and fuck up the town.

[From the tone of his voice, Joker finds it hard to believe that.]

Or maybe you schmucks just weren't paying attention.

Like I said, we trusted you to not to go off and do outrageous things if we left you alone. You need some space sometimes, and I get that. We get that.

[ Even if it wasn't too visible as time passed, Terry already gets that Akira is a pretty private and closed off person to begin with. ]

I didn't think you'd want any one of us to keep an eye on you if that was actually you there, because you like your privacy.

[ Because that doesn't sound like something Akira wants, but then again, Terry can be wrong. He can always be wrong. ]

If you don't believe me, fine. I know others will come here after me too because they thought the same as I did. You can ask them the same thing. They'll be coming...

[ He's not expecting to win the Most Trustworthy Award from Akira of all people. ]

... because we want you back.

...You don't want me back!

[This is a very nice emotional appeal, and it's completely lost on Joker. In fact, it only serves to make him dig in his heels more, quickly becoming more hostile. Terry is talking to Joker like he is the kind, clever, caring Vice-Leader who everyone wants to see around. But he's not. He's the one who calls for the blood of the Shadows and the birds and the villagers and the foreigners who just make everything worse.]

You only want Akira back, so he can pat your ass and keep you in line and keep trying to make sure you idiots get out of here alive!

Do you seriously think punching me, taking potshots at me, and me bowing my head to Akira on the ground was him patting my ass?

[ Terry looks like he's in disbelief for a good second or two. Also, he dismisses Vassago. He's not here to pummel Joker to the ground. ]

Then who are you? Are you the part of him that lets loose when there's nothing holding him back?

[ Because he remembers a little bit of that back in their fight with the second Daitengu. And. Well, there sure is nothing holding Joker back from saying all these things now when Akira was usually reserved about it unless he blew a fuse or was at a Dungeon. ]

Wrong.

[To be honest, Lucifer could have gone face to face with Vassago, and depending on how well they played it, Joker could probably still come out the victor. But it's nice that Terry put his gun away, because that dragon's certainly not a partner to him.]

You didn't like that too much, did you? Bet you'd be happier if he was nicer about it. Pwotected your widdle fee-fees.

[Joker knows where he stands. The motivation behind it was righteous and supplied by Akira, but the execution was all him. It's a collaborative effort.]

[ Cool. Terry thinks he has to play the guessing game now that the Shadow wants him to get right or whatever, just like how he was upset that it took two days for people to go and reach him. It feels that the Shadow just wants to be chased and it really takes a lot out of Terry not to roll his eyes. ]

Yeah? Despite claims, I'm actually not a masochist, so yes. I would have been happier if he was nicer about it. I wouldn't deny that. And why are you talking like that anyway?

[ The mocking goes over his head and it backfires, because Terry thinks it makes the Shadow sound like an idiot. ]

Cut it out, unless you enjoy talking like that...?

[ It's a genuine question. ]

[The Shadow could not care less if Terry got it right. If Terry wants to keep guessing he can totally go for it, though. No one has to understand the two of them but each other.]

Despite claims, oh my god. [Literally no one made any claims that he jerks off to this, so what's the point of bringing that up? Joker shakes his head, because Terry didn't see what he was getting at.]

Terry... at any given moment, you're ten centimeters away from calling a Shadow for — what — the third time? Your mind can't take too much more of this. You don't want a couple of people with both morals enough to see what you're doing is wrong, and a mean streak enough to come down on you if you fuck it up.

Given the chance to take out the one who would take you down... you'd do that, wouldn't you?

[ Look, he's tired of people saying that he does, okay. It happened. Maybe it's just not Akira and that he doesn't know. But yeah, that's probably not important. So Terry ignores it now and focuses on what Joker says after.

...

Hm. He gives it a serious moment to think it over. It wasn't in Hirajiro, but yeah. There was something like that. ]

I would. I tried already, back home. I got sent to Death's door plenty of times because of it. I was one of the weakest in the war full of actual demigods--of course they'd best an inferior clone like me no matter how many times I went at them. All I had going for me was that I didn't die, so I suffered near death experiences over and over and over.

Even if it weren't for that, living through forty thousand years made me feel so tired of everything when everyone just wanted me dead. You're not even twenty yet, and everything is already exhausting, isn't it? You get it, don't you? But I hung onto hope for so long that I could see everyone back here--and that includes you! Even if you're going to treat me like shit, at least you were here! A lot of things happened when I came back and I learned from my mistakes! I learned that living was worth it despite being so fucking tired all the time! I wanted to live, so that I could live the way I wanted to after all this is over! I could also help people go back home! Things keep happening after one another, but I'm still going to hold on. I wanted to do this for you too so you could go home if you wanted to! I wanted you to be happy! Don't you have anybody back home that you want to see?! Both of you? Either of you?!

Of course we do. Unlike you, dying was never an option for us! So anything that will eventually lead to our destruction, we have to stop it!

[As if any iteration of Akira was ever going to throw in the towel like that. It's the reason that the Shadow manifested this way; taking the normal approach of brute-forcing Joker's will over Akira's was never going to get anywhere, because Akira lived and died by the force of his will.]

And that includes you, Terry! Right now you're sitting here telling me that all you want is the best for all of us, all you want is to get us home as if we have to depend on you to do it — but the biggest active threat in this entire town is you! Forget about the birds, we could probably leave them alone forever and the Kotengu would never come back, but no matter what we do to you, something's going to set you off again and then we're gonna wake up to this entire pocket dimension being a crater in the fucking ground!

I said I fucking learned, didn't I?! I even told you back then that I wouldn't fucking do it again, when I was fucking bowing on the ground at your feet! Good to know that you didn't understand anything I said. Thanks. If I can endure shitty treatment for all those years, I don't have any doubt that I can keep my promise, because if there's anything I'm good at, I'm good at enduring shit and I'm gonna fucking keep my promise. Like how you just keep screaming assumptions about me and I'm just standing here and fucking taking it.

[ It's bitter, and he might as well spit on the ground. ]

If I didn't make that promise to myself, the moment the townspeople turned their backs on us, I would have shot and killed everyone on the spot, because everything that interferes with me living a happy life here would have to die. I wouldn't need anything like that, but at least I'm going to try to persuade the townspeople! I'm not going to kill anyone in the town! What were you doing? Thinking it was useless? That there was no use in trying?! At least I'm doing my best so that everyone can get through this safely! You're the one that's not cooperating with us anymore, being like this, aren't you?! Why else would you be here after being like that--being tired of everything? The Attendants told me that no one can get through this by themselves, and that includes me, you asshole! Get it straight! I can't do it, and neither can you, no matter how much you want to!!

Will you stop talking like we're interchangeable?!

[You really think Joker would be capable of having a conversation like that? He's not. For some reason or another, maybe because of the landscape of their mind, Akira and Joker don't seem to operate like the normal 'two sides, one coin' Shadow diagram. Terry never had a Shadow engagement alongside Akira, but he's always tried to approach other Shadows this way too, treating them as their own person rather than a manifestation of someone else...]

Sure I saw it, sure I was there, but that entire thing working hinges on whether or not the person hearing it can actually believe you! Akira probably did because he's a fucking idiot, and back then he still wanted so hard to see the best in all of you— because that's what he's supposed to do, to be a "good person", keeping up that routine meant that he wouldn't have to give anything over to me! But I'm not like that, I don't believe in anyone like that, so of course I'm still going to believe the worst of you, because there is absolutely NO FUCKING TIMELINE where I'm going to let him die!!

I don't care! You're not the fucking exception to what they said regardless of who you are! You can't get it through by yourself either! And what the other Attendants meant was with other people! Not just yourself, and every other facet of yourself! Besides, you're interchangeable because you're a Shadow, aren't you? You're still a part of Akira!

[ Terry breathes in, because holy shit. ]

But fine! Whatever! And why the fuck is Akira so hung up on being such a good person?! I didn't treat Akira any differently after the fight with the Daitengu or when we fucking argued or fought. You're just like any other person! You don't have to constantly try to be a good person!

[ Then Terry realizes something. ]

... That's why you kept screaming at me, didn't you? You kept wanting to be the paragon of a good person so when I acted out, you were there to "be the good person". Just be yourself! I told Kido the same thing when she was having trouble about being a leader! You want to be a role model or some shit?! Stop holding yourself to some standards that nobody fucking cares about but you! Do you believe that you're that fucking deprived?! BOTH OF YOU!!

[Joker fixes Terry with a hard glare. He agrees with Terry 100% — there is absolutely no need for Akira to pretend to be someone that he's not. But you know what happens when Akira drops the pretenses? Joker is what happens. So if Terry's going to keep screaming into his face like he's talking to Akira, fine! Joker will just make sure that he's talking to Akira.]

[The switch is quick in decisive, and it takes a matter of seconds for their eyes to change colour.]

I kept screaming at you because you were fucking wrong—

[ ...... ]

[Akira freezes, and looks down. And then up at Terry. And then his body language completely changes, he pulls himself away and squares his shoulders and hisses at the floor.]

That motherfucker!

[ Terry watches the change happen in front of him. It's Akira with his not-gold eyes, but there seems to be something off with Akira's reaction. Every single Shadow he encountered seemed to have a different criteria, and this is no different, but he can't think of a reason why the Shadow would just retreat and send Akira out like this. He only ever heard of it, but he wonders if this is what it's like to deal with multiple personalities in a single person. ]

Go on. Keep screaming at me like you were going to.

[The change is usually on more of a gradient, rather than flipping a switch like golden eyes turning on and off, but it's somewhat similar. Things like that develop in very early childhood, you know? When a child experiences trauma so intense or incessant that their brain literally cannot cope with it, they form another vessel to hold the memories for them — or another entity to take the abuse, or comfort them, or punish the offender, or whatever it is that the kid needs and the outside world does not provide — just so they can both get through to the next day.]

Sometimes that entity is half-formed, somewhere between consciousness and subconsciousness, until it's given something to latch onto. An appearance, or a name. As the kid gets older, the tendency to create a collaborative effort in order to get through the stresses of life remain, especially when they're continually put in traumatic situations. And especially when they're handed other entities from a magic butterfly to be friends with, and easily take on those masks as their own face.]

...You know why I did that, Terry? Two reasons.

[Akira's not screaming.]

Number one, you were threatening to kill everybody, and back then I still thought this world was worth saving.

Number two, you were stronger than me, and lording your will over me. That made me want to hurt you.

That's it. Those are the reasons.

[ Akira isn't screaming, and the moment when Akira did come back out, Terry felt himself calmer than before. He doesn't scream either. He gets those reasons, because putting himself in that perspective, he'd probably do the same. If it was Terrence who did that, who's clearly the stronger one, Terry would have done the same, no matter how futile it seemed. He was always the weaker one back home--the bottom feeder, until he was sick of it and wanted power. He got it. It didn't change anything. What a waste. ]

You don't think this world is worth it to you anymore?

[ Because that sure sounds real familiar. Terry looks over at Akira evenly as if to convey that, how their situations are flipped now. ]

I think it's going to drive itself into the ground, whatever we do, because that's human nature.

And I'm tired of uphill battles.

[He's not planning on razing it to the ground, because Hirajiro will raze itself. All he and Joker are doing is just... not trying to keep it on life support any longer.]

[ Terry doesn't want to be the one to force Akira to fight more uphill battles if he doesn't want to, but he's also the Vice Leader, who people have expectations of. It could be true that the town could just collapse in on itself from how things are now, but Terry doesn't want to let that happen. ]

Are you tired of uphill battles because you feel like you're alone in doing so? Because people have expectations of you as Vice Leader of the team, as someone who knew about Personas long before any of us, and so you feel like you had to carry the weight of it all? Or maybe it's because you couldn't trust anyone but yourself to pull through?

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ PART ONE: REAL WORLD

→ PART TWO: METAVERSE

→ PART THREE: NOTES

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