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JOKER / Akira Kurusu ([personal profile] infiltrationtools) wrote in [community profile] cetana2020-01-01 12:34 pm

[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.

[personal profile] parhellia 2020-01-01 07:35 pm (UTC)(link)
1/1 - 1/5, 3rd floor
[ Green... blue... gold... Ala rubs the grime off the gemstones in her hands before slipping them into her hoodie pocket, where they disappear without so much of a clatter, and hops down the stairs to the third floor two steps at a time to open the door and—

scream when a lightning bolt strikes her feet, and Ala reels back into the safety of the stairwell for a second to collect her thoughts. What the hell happened? It's like the lake dungeon all over again where things are getting screwy... This time, when she opens the door, she only peeks out to see what's going on, looking from the Shadows to the stormy skies to the flaming palace that just looks wrong- what happened?

She looks around to see if any other Persona user is here to tell her what's going on, because the only reason she's in the dungeon in the first place is to collect gemstones, making her way through the floors despite being one of the weakest Personas here who can no longer fight because she'd given back her only weapon, a knife, and had let go of all her offensive spells. Which is fine, because she walks into the floor unafraid, sticking close to the Shadows because if lightning strikes, they're so much larger than she is and therefore more likely to get struck first.

And the Shadows? The koppa tengus blow wind at Ala and she feels nothing but a breeze; a Chimera lunges at her and bites down on her arm and she doesn't so much as flinch. She walks forward undeterred, a solemn walk through the fire, lightning strikes flashing and crackling all around her until she stands in front of the palace. ]


wc.
[ Ala will be in the dungeon every night except on the 3rd. She drains fire, wind, psychokinesis, physical, curse/dark, and ice, and also has a charm skill to get past Shadows, so if anybody wants to team up to get through the floor and palace, she's more than willing to play escort.]

wc. 1/2?

[personal profile] yokeye 2020-01-01 08:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[Everything smells like smoke and indeterminate substances burning. The flames crackle, the lighting making little zaps as it hits the floor or something else. Toki stays close to Joroko, but she herself is not having a good time. She's no longer weak to fire, but she remembers when she was, and she's hesitant to plow right through it; instead observing the floor for a minute and trying to form some sort of plan, because Toki is no help here.]

[personal profile] parhellia 2020-01-01 08:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Fire is inherently very scary, a destructive force that Ala holds her breath running through though all she feels is a comforting warmth like hot breath or sunshine that does not exist in this place during this time. Without any offensive spells to allow her to fight directly, she's been standing back in the healing flame and orchestrating battles on her own, charming other Shadows to fight each other to the death, but it's tiring work and although she's constantly being healed, she can't expend too much magic and that makes the going slow.

So! Any other Persona user being here is a godsend, and Ala runs out from out of the fire she'd been taking refuge in, several flames still clinging to her clothes until they go out in the breeze as she comes up to Toki and Joroko, throwing a glance over her shoulder to make sure the nearest Shadows are still preoccupied with tearing each other's limbs apart. ]


Toki! Joroko! What are you guys doing here? Training?

[ Saving Akira? What's up, guys. ]

[personal profile] yokeye 2020-01-01 08:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[Joroko doesn't look particularly happy to see Ala of all people, but at least it's not 45, whom Toki thinks is attractive. Her jealous streak has been running hot lately. She remains silent. Toki, however, looks relieved.]

Ala~! Um, not really training because like, something's happening and there's like a Shadow thing and it's too much! Rei almost died and now it's happening again!

[He doesn't have all the details, just that it's Akira somewhere in here. How he gathered that much is a mystery.]

Why does everyone just want to give up!?

[Toki is the master of giving up; or he used to be. Now that he has things to fight for, all efforts will be exhausted before he ever stops.]

[personal profile] parhellia 2020-01-01 08:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[ At least Toki can't see Ala and be reminded of "Tsubomi" who he used to like and Kano doesn't continue ruining everybody's lives even when he's not here. It's fine. Ala likes Vassago and she will be very vocal about it if asked.

She takes a little step back when Toki starts shouting, figuring Toki can't see her so he won't think it rude, and so she can crane her neck and look up at him because he's that much taller. ]


Giving up on what? This is the opposite of giving up, isn't it? When the host and their Persona's ideals clash, a Shadow is formed and tries to take over and—-

[ She gestures around her, at the palace- quickly brings her hand back before the lightning strikes her instead of the floor at her feet when she moves towards Toki and Joroko a little. All this. That Toki can't see but she thinks Joroko must be giving him a running commentary on. ]

All these changes here is because the host is fighting rea~lly hard. That's the opposite of giving up!

[personal profile] yokeye 2020-01-01 08:58 pm (UTC)(link)
I... don't know?

[Ala is confusing him. He didn't know Shadows of people had anything to do with Personas at all. Even the whole time he was talking to Niko, he didn't think about Ananke at all; like she didn't matter and had no bearing on the situation. It was Rei and a part of herself that had nothing to hold onto anymore, and wanted to die... but then explanation comes. Because they're fighting it.]

No. I... I understand.

[He unfortunately doesn't know what's going on around them, because Joroko is being pissy and not telling him anything. She let him walk into one of the maze walls on the first floor... and Toki thinks she laughed, but covered it quickly. He's getting suspicious.]

I want to talk to him- Akira.

[personal profile] parhellia 2020-01-01 09:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Joroko... please... Toki's not the only one who's suspicious, because there's Ala squinting up at him not really believing that he understands anything and is just saying it to appease her or something. Ala wasn't there for Rei's Shadow and nor was she there for Kido's, but she was there for Sherry 2.0 who also struggled with a host who had given up the will to live, and if this is what Toki means by giving up, she thinks he's wrong.

Akira is filled with so much spite and anger, that there is no way he would give up and die. Everybody has their own personal problems that leads to a Shadow, and his isn't this. ]


I want to talk to him too, but... Are you guys friends? You and Akira, and Arsène, and Sandalphon, and everybody?

1/3

[personal profile] overstrain 2020-01-01 09:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[ 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.
]

[personal profile] yokeye 2020-01-01 09:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[Toki is considering giving up more like giving in. To anything. The opposite of fighting, or caring. He's getting better at expressing himself, but now he tends not to give things enough context, instead of spouting so much extraneous information. One day, he'll find a balance.

He's very generous with the term "friend". Anyone Toki talks to and likes is a friend. Anyone who's nice to him, or acknowledges his existence. That's how he ends up with friends like Kano and Jolyne. Despite not spending a lot of time with him, Toki has shared the most about himself with Akira. Willingly, anyway. Terry maybe knows more by pinpointing, or Ala from Kano.

But Akira is someone Toki has feelings for, someone he knows was struggling here, who was... afraid maybe, of what he'd return to, and angry over how things went for him, and for Toki. Toki doesn't know what happened to Akira in Tokyo, or before Hirajiro, but he knows it left an enduring mark.]


Yes. He's my friend. And... Sandalphon.

[Somewhat. He's never met Arsene or the other Personas.]

[personal profile] parhellia 2020-01-01 09:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ala here has met none of Akira's Personas and has only talked with the man himself all of once, but as far as she's concerned, somebody is a friend the moment you decide it, so the clear and confident "yes" makes her smile and leaves no room for doubt. Friends want to help each other, and they want the best for each other, and that's what really matters here. It's why Ala had gone to talk to Terry's Shadow way back then, and was on the side of Vassago taking over because that's what she thought was best. She wants the best for Akira. She wants to see a sunrise together. So it looks like she and Toki are on the same page. ]

Okay! Let's go talk with Akira~ Joroko, you're very strong, right? I can cover for you and Toki and keep you safe, but I can't fight very well.

[personal profile] yokeye 2020-01-01 09:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay!

[Ala's enthusiasm gives him a little more confidence in this endeavour. Joroko isn't very strong. She has weaker stats, and not too many powerful spells.]

"I am... sufficient."

Joroko!

[Toki screeches internally. Joroko sounds so indifferent to things lately and he doesn't know what's wrong with her.]

She'll be fine, Ala! Onward!

[He waves his hand vaguely, because he doesn't know where they're going.]

[personal profile] parhellia 2020-01-01 10:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The two of them are going to get torn apart by Akira's Personas if it comes to it, so Ala's just hoping it never comes to it, with her having starter stats that make it so even Joroko feels super strong to her. Sufficient is good enough for what they're doing, in either case, which is simply reaching Akira inside the palace. It'll be fine if they work together, which... they are not doing, and it's very obvious to Ala who doesn't move at all despite Toki's gestures for them to get going. ]

Are you two fi— ahh!

[ Another lightning strike flashes through the sky and sears the side of Ala's leg, which could've been much worse if she hadn't moved at the same time. She grits her teeth and trots over to a patch of burning something and crouches there, letting the fire heal her, and looks over at Toki and Joroko again. ]

You better not be doing anything to make Joroko upset, Toki! Anyways... I really don't like the weather here, so let's try to get to the building as quickly as possible, okay? I'm going to be up front, and you guys follow me, okay?

[personal profile] yokeye 2020-01-01 10:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Wait! What happened!? Are you okay!

[Ala's shout throws him off, and then she seems... okay? Did something attack? And now somehow it's turned around on him, and Toki has no idea what he's been doing to Joroko; is it his fault she's upset about something?]

Joroko, whatever I did, I'm sorry! But it's not time for this now!

[The shrieking is not going over well with her. She decides Toki doesn't really need to help here, and he will be dragged behind her in a web net. She will see this through and get him where he wants to go, because she still loves him, but she is displeased.]

"Lead the way."

[Joroko will spam Psycho Blast when any Shadows get too close, and do her best to anticipate attacks that might catch Ala off guard.]

[personal profile] parhellia 2020-01-01 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Whatever's going on between them, they'd better sort it out soon because this whole dungeon is a reminder of how quickly things could go south. But Toki is right in that this isn't the time and the longer they stand here, the greater chance they'll all get zapped because it's the one thing Ala can't protect them from and she stares up at the sky with furrowed brows for a beat before looking back down at the two of them and giving them a smile. ]

I'm okay. Do you hear that rumbling and crackling, Toki? That's thunder and lightning, so we gotta be careful and get through this quick. Don't worry about hitting me either, Joroko! If either of you need me, give me a shout!

[ aka, she's not going to walk right in front of them, but quite a ways ahead, turning from person to smoke to the large form of the original Vassago with sharp teeth and beating wings that draws the attention of the other Shadows, but not matter how hard they try to bite at her and spit fire in her face, nothing seems to leave a mark, and all of this just heals her instead and more than makes up for what damage she takes from the lightning. In this way, they can make it to the palace, Ala drawing Shadows to her while Joroko's Psycho Blasts them and Ala gets nicely healed from that too.

Once upon a time, Ala laughed in Terry's face and called him a masochist, but this is what it's like, huh ]

[personal profile] yokeye 2020-01-01 10:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[This is going better than expected. Joroko delights in her new level of psychic power, striking at Shadows without lifting a finger. She doesn't have to waste her energy with healing either, as Ala can take care of herself in that department.

When a Chimera appears, that's an image she makes sure to project to Toki... also delighting in the scream that follows.]

[personal profile] overstrain 2020-01-01 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
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.

[personal profile] parhellia 2020-01-01 11:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[ In the flurry of fur and jaws and snapping beaks, it's hard to tell if any Shadows are getting past her, but when she hears Toki's scream, Ala lifts up out of the crowd with a beat of wings that shakes off what Shadow gunk stubbornly clings to her and looks around to see what's wrong. A Chimera isn't something she or Joroko should fight head on, incredible beast as it is, and it's a lot faster than she is— with one lunge, it could get at Joroko and Toki before Joroko can launch an attack or Ala jump in there to intercept it.

So

she casts wolvaan, turning the Chimera into a leonberger, which is unfortunately a giant dog so still fairly dangerous, but there are now much less eyes and wings and number of jaws to deal with. ]

[personal profile] yokeye 2020-01-01 11:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[Joroko cuts off her psychic link with Toki as the Chimera turns into that giant of a dog. It would scare Toki as well, but Joroko isn't stupid enough to continue her tormenting when it was almost her downfall. The thing is on fire and getting closer, and Joroko opts for physical fighting, stabbing into its fur and soft flesh with her legs.

She doesn't relish in the kill, scurrying out of the way before another Chimera comes along, preferring to retreat and focus her efforts on the other Shadows of lesser power while continuing her trek to the palace.]

[personal profile] parhellia 2020-01-01 11:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The stab gives Ala time to regroup too, catching up to the Chimera dog and wrapping her arms around it— more like it immediately clamp its jaws down on her arm that causes this wonderful warmth to spread down her body from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, but she does her best not to just stand there and enjoy it while tugging the FOE away and back to the other Shadows. You're so heavy, dog... She wishes Terry hadn't asked for his knife back.

It's so much harder fighting and looking after others at the same time; when it was just her and Kano, he would either be right there by her side or otherwise somewhere safe and using his illusions to orchestrate the battlefield for her, but with Toki and Joroko, there's no such tactic possible.

The priority is keeping Toki safe, because he's a human and humans die too easily, so Ala lets the Chimera go and charms it, and then looks for other Chimeras to charm. If Joroko's dealing with the weaker Shadows, then all Ala needs to do is take control of the Chimeras who are naturally the strongest of anything else on this floor and will wipe out all the other Shadows too, greatly thinning the numbers while she runs forward again and hopes Toki will be getting to the palace entrance soon. ]

[personal profile] overstrain 2020-01-01 11:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[ 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.

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