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cetana2020-01-01 12:34 pm
[OPEN] 1/1: Personal Shadow Event
premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation
→ 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
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
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
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.
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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. ]
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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?
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...
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?!
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[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!
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[ 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!!
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[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!!
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[ 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!!
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[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!
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Go on. Keep screaming at me like you were going to.
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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.
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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. ]
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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.]
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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?
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[No matter where he is. No matter who goes with him.]
In that stupid bunker, I tried everything I could think of to get those people out. Nothing worked. That operation was airtight, and innocents died. Then we got here, and some of them came back and died again. I tried to round us into a cohesive group, and nothing ever worked. I trained as hard as I could because Arsène—Joker—he said we weren't strong enough, and he was right, and I did everything I could but I'm still nowhere near Kido and you. And then Christmas came around and I just...
[Akira winds a hand into his hair. He looks around and the gnarled landscape they find themselves in.]
Last Christmas was the closest thing to Hell that this planet could ever get. And I think about the person I was then and the person I am now, and I think maybe I keep failing because I lost something along the way.
[He can't give up, but he can't keep going. And he can't ask for help, because that means admitting that he's weak.]
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... This is probably one of those "grass looks greener on the side" things, but... you're right. My Persona is strong. I'm also strong in terms of destructive power alone. But that's all I ever had and I clung onto it. I learned that I couldn't talk to people worth jack shit, couldn't get people to understand why I do the things I do, and so on. Most of the times when I try to talk things out, it ends up being a disaster.
[ And he's trying his best not to let that happen here. Not this time. ]
Back home, I wanted to protect the city I lived in as a neutral faction in a war among demigods. Not everybody made it. My best friend was also close to being one of the casualties because I couldn't protect him, but I gave up my literal heart to keep him alive. The people that I saved in the city... time passed. Things changed. They wanted me dead. There was absolutely no way I could persuade them. It went on like that for the longest time. My power... despite that I'm a clone of a demigod, couldn't do anything. All I wanted to do was keep Orien and Lily safe and for them to not get caught in the crossfire.
Destructive power... isn't everything. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. I know I have a lot of the latter. Akira, you could do things that I couldn't. You brought Kido back through words alone, didn't you? We have our successes and failures, and it's from the failures that we learn from, to have a stronger heart. I'm not saying that you need to close off and harden yourself with everything that happens, because moving on and striving to improve is important. I know you can do that. Things here have always been stressful, and I get that. You don't always have to strive to be a good person with upstanding morals or whatever, but a better person. Being a better person doesn't always mean you have to have the moral high ground. Be true to yourself and find the balance that you want to have.
... I want to believe that you have people to go home to. I don't know if you do, and I'm sorry for assuming, but if you do, there must have been a reason why, right? You had previous experience with Personas and stuff, but did you do everything on your own?
1/2
[At his heart, despite recent efforts to the contrary, Akira still has empathy. The balance is where the trouble lies. It's between justice for the wronged and vengeance upon the wrongful; a desire to help, and a desire to hurt. After all, anger is all well and good when it's directed in the right places, but the more pressure he puts himself under, the more that deep furnace starts to blast at the wrong times. In the wrong direction. Blaming Airi for relatively minor mistakes and deaths that couldn't really be prevented — this deep-seated unease and hostility towards Terry that he can't seem to shake, for no reason other than that he needs someone to hate to keep himself motivated — losing his temper and coming down on Kido and Red, when one just made some shitty jokes and the other's only offense was knowing when to pick his battles —]
[Akira opens his mouth to speak. He does have people to go home to, is the truth of it, and he doesn't want to go home to them like this. He doesn't want to lose even more control over himself, and take out his frustrations on even more of the people he loves. That's why he's so worked up about being a good person. Because once he starts to loosen his grip, it's all steep downhill from there. If he can't maintain it, how long until he really does become a monster?]
[— and he never gets a chance to say it, at least not right now, because this level of emotional connection and honesty is something that Joker will not abide. You know why? Because Joker is so close to crushing this empathy out of him and he's not going to lose it because of TERRY.]
[FUCKING.]
[NOWELL!]
2/2
[Before Akira starts getting any ideas.]
[Joker straightens up, and around his feet, blue flames spark to life. His expression contorts from compassion to fury in record time, an absolute mask of malevolence — there's no negotiation, there's no convincing, and there's definitely no accepting. There never was. From the start, Joker was not meant to be pacified.]
[He's meant to be taken down.]
[The Shadow acts quick, because he had this plan figured out. Terry was going to come in, and he was going to be so strong that they wouldn't be able to handle it under normal circumstances. But Terry needs to be silenced, and he needs to be nerfed so that he can't Heat Riser the shit out of himself and nuke them all into orbit.
Wolvaan.
[Step one. Terry can fight, but he can't talk. Step two is that shiny new dagger that Joker's pulling out of his coat. Prayer circle that the damn doggie skill doesn't bring over Unshaken Will!]
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[That said, Terry does move such that the dagger is between his teeth. The knife's edge still cuts into the soft flesh around his mouth — but a second later, Joker's realized what's happening and swings the dagger in a quick ovular motion. If Terry doesn't lose his grip, then the hope is that momentum will carry him into the ground, leaving an opening for another stab.]
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No, Terry takes the opportunity in an attempt to latch himself on Joker's hair. If he's successful, he'll bite and pull his hair. ]
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You're not getting anywhere now, dog!
[...But just like that, Joker's hand seizes up and then splays out. The Frenzy Dagger clatters to the ground, and Joker curses with Pom Terry still on top of his head.]
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I FUCKING HATE YOU.
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