FEBRUARY EVENT PT 1

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ 2/2 Infodump

Three weeks have passed in the outside world since everybody had first entered the dungeons, and they exit to find themselves back in Hirajiro. It's quiet, late at night, streets dry around both the house and the clubhouse as they all trudge on home. For the rest of the night, everybody is encouraged to sleep, waking up to breakfast and in the late afternoon on the 2nd, an official team meeting is called. This time, there is no enforcement for people to come or stay, and food will be served after the bulk of the discussion is dealt with. Those who care will take things seriously, and those who don't are free to walk away.

To start, each team shares what went on in each respective dungeon.

(click to expand details) From the castle dungeon:

⬥ Room 1: The team finds Rio's, Yamato's, and Kido's omamoris that had been returned to the shrine back on New Years, and allows them to burn.

⬥ Room 2: In a war between Hirajiro and a neighboring town, Terry kills a hundred of the other town's soldiers with a single arrow and saves Hirajiro.

⬥ Room 3: In the aftermath of the war, the townspeople praise the Kotengu for saving them. They say he came to power half a year ago and can strengthen people and bring them back from the dead. In the offertory box in the forest shrine, Cyrus, Sasuke, and Jiro find a scrap of paper.

⬥ Room 4: In the aftermath of the war, Terry, Rei, and Yamato fight through a horde of zombies: the townspeople that Terry killed with his arrows who have been brought back to life- but wrong.

⬥ Room 5: In the aftermath of the war, Minato, Nero, and Red help out the remains of the town that attacked Hirajiro. These townspeople blame themselves for attacking and underestimating the Kotengu's strength. Red falls into ego death.

⬥ Room 6: In a war between the Kotengu and Daitengu, Hirajiro has been destroyed by active earthquakes and rockslides triggered by the Daitengu after the townspeople decide to side with the Kotengu. The team gathers up the remaining townspeople and bring them to safety at the shrine, where the Kotengu spirits everybody away to safety. Cyrus falls into ego death. Sasuke receives a second scrap of paper.

⬥ Final Room: In the boss' chamber, the team is met with the ghosts of all their old teammates lost to ego death and permadeath. Minato fully remembers and explains his contract: he and Souji became Attendants to help their Guests defeat the Daitengu and free to Kotengu, after which the Kotengu will use his powers to bring their team back from death. The Kotengu has the ability to bring people back from the dead and has been doing so for the Persona users. The Daitengu have the ability to shatter people's souls, which is the reason why there are Persona users who permadied and did not revive, and will not reincarnate. To restore these souls, the Attendants planned to use the Kotengu's power to access the Sea of Souls. Sasuke receives a third scrap of paper.

(click to expand details) From the shrine dungeon:

⬥ Room 1: In the main hub, the team meets the ghost of a young human boy who runs away and seals half the doors. In the first room, everybody meets doppelgangers of each person in the team, but defeat them and find a fourth scrap of paper in Souji's doppelganger's bag.

⬥ Room 2: In modern-day Hirajiro, the townspeople turn against the Persona users and burn down the clubhouse. Jiro and Ala fight through the crowd of townspeople who attack them with torches and farming tools and chase the two until they escape into the forest.

⬥ Room 3: During the Kotengu's rise in power, the lake is polluted and turned into a dumping ground for scrap metal and other trash, and only a small handful of people remain who argue against industrialization and the destruction of nature. The townspeople attack and drive away 45, Kido, and the few people who dare to disagree with the Kotengu.

⬥ Room 4: During the Kotengu's rise in power, students learn about weaponsmithing and war tactics instead of the usual subjects like math and science. Souji and Iris meet the boy from the hub. He introduces himself as Hiroto, and agrees to lower the barrier in the main hub.

⬥ Room 5: During the Kotengu's rise in power, the forest around Hirajiro is being cut down to light iron furnaces for smithing weapons. The forest animals are displaced from their homes, and take refuge in the beginnings of the Kotengu's castle, where Akira, Rio, and Wei Wuxian find a fifth scrap of paper.

⬥ Room 6: In modern-day Hirajiro, the team lives out their daily lives believing they are natives to the town, until they pick up on the discrepancies such as the isolation of the town. With brainwashing from the Daitengu, this is the idyllic life they could have, if they choose it over reality.

⬥ Final Room: The team meets Miyamoto-no-Yamazaki, who reveals he was originally human and went by the name Hiroto. Daitengu can be born as a Daitengu, as in the case of the previous three Daitengu, or they can be born as a human and turn into one, as in Hiroto's case. In the middle of the discussion, Jiro goes into anaphylactic shock and Hiroto sends everybody out of the dungeon, saying that every time one of them dies and is revived, their soul becomes more and more corrupted. He will reopen the dungeon on the 3rd for the whole team to come back. Jiro falls into ego death.

For the sake of refreshing everybody's memories, Akira and Kido then go over everything they have learned about this world and how it's time to make a decision for how to bring everything to an end.

The Kotengu and Daitengu vied for power in the past, with the Daitengu being guardians of nature and peace and the Kotengu bringing war and advancement. The Kotengu was sealed away but has the power to bring in people from other worlds and make them Persona users. The last group include Minato and Souji, whose entire team was killed except for Minato: he was saved by the Kotengu, and signed a contract promising to lead the new Persona users to kill the Daitengu and free the Kotengu. In return, he and Souji were made into Attendants, and upon completion of the contract, the Kotengu will restore their team's shattered souls and bring them back to life.

Supported by multiple sources, the ofuda door in the castle is their way home. Both teams have been gathering up torn parts of the same ofuda, with five pieces out of six in their possession, and one more piece will complete the last ofuda needed to go home. All the ofudas, complete and incomplete, are given to Akira for safekeeping. As the Kotengu controls the passage, they may be able to open the door and leave without fighting, while the Kotengu is busy fighting the last Daitengu. If they stay and fight the Kotengu as originally planned, however, they must be aware that 1) the Kotengu may be able to seal the omamori he created, and 2) each time somebody is brought back to life by the Kotengu, he corrupts their souls. In the past, Souji and the rest of his team were able to summon their Personas without a medium like Minato's team required, and Souji promises to help figure out the mechanics so they no longer require the omamori. As for the second point... there's already been too many casualties, and it's unclear what corruption means, only that it terrified Hiroto.

Along with whether to kill the Kotengu (somehow) or forge a deal with him, they must decide on what to do with the last Daitengu. If they kill Hiroto, it's hinted that the Daitengu will never truly disappear from the world because humans with high spiritual energy may turn into Daitengu. Souta, the grandson of the occult shop owners, is a prime candidate for this, and the town may never be free of a Daitengu's influence. For those who want to stay in Hirajiro when everything is over, the world may retain its prison system and constantly try to boot any remaining Persona users out unless Hiroto or another Daitengu can rework the system.

And then there's the Sea of Souls, the possibility of bringing everybody back to life— Mondo and Hibiki and Naoya and all the dozens upon dozens of people who were dragged into this war against their will. Shattered souls, corrupted souls, they could all be saved. All this time, ever since they arrived here in the summer, the team battled for their lives and their freedom against the Daitengu and the Kotengu, pledging to kill the fucking birds and forge their own paths. But they need the Kotengu to go home. They need the Daitengu to stay in Hirajiro. It isn't so easy to drop the convictions they've poured so much into already. What shall they do?

Tomorrow, they speak with Hiroto, and make their first decision of whether to work together, or make a stand and fight.

→ 2/3 - 2/29 Around Town

Outside of the hidden hour, life goes on... Bundled up in coats and scarves, the townspeople flock outside for much of the month, catching up with each other and going shopping together, turning to the Persona users with warm smiles and exclamations that they're glad to see everybody recovered from their illnesses too— they've all been gone for weeks, after all, presumably stuck at home with the sniffles. The patients in the clinic have all started to recover over the past few weeks, with a little garden of medicinal plants started beside the community center now that there is no danger of frost, and construction is already underway to rebuild the hospital building.

For Setsubun on the 3rd, little bags of roasted soybeans and samples of ginger sake for the adults are given out in the marketplace, and at the mountain shrine, priests pass out sweets and small toys and envelopes of money to those who make the trek to the peak. Young men wearing nothing but loincloths parade around the lake before plunging into the freezing water for "purification." Tiny daruma with blank eyes are sold to grant wishes— daruma are so weird: you give the doll the gift of sight by painting in just one eye, write your wish down on its back, and then withhold filling in the other eye until the doll grants your wish through some mystical power. The townspeople believe in this sort of stuff, okay. But none of the townspeople seem to be able to see summoned Personas anymore, and when asked or shown anything out of the ordinary, the townspeople laugh and say you're silly, turning their attention back to the festivities. In the evening, a bonfire is raised by the lakefront with a stage set up next to it for musical performances, historical reenactments and dramas, and dancing all through the night until morning comes with the arrival of spring.

And sure enough, by morning, the snow has all melted, the sun shining brightly in a clear blue sky, though the air is crisp and the nights still get cold. Several townspeople have been hard at work building rowboats, which can be rented to paddle out into the lake, the water so clear one can see several meters into the depths where schools of freshwater fish now swim about, and birds can be seen floating on the surface until a boat comes too close and scares them away. At the community center, a soup kitchen has been set up by a group of volunteers, with hot stews and freshly baked bread served in a large room filled wall to wall with tables and benches, the townspeople enjoying lunches and dinners together with donations going towards the hospital and covering the costs of patients so no one needs to worry about affording treatment. The illness has abated and winter has ended, hope alight on each person's face.

→ MOD NOTES

⬥ A lot of the information detailed in the infodump has been repeated ad nauseam over the course of the game, but is presented here for summary and completion, and so all characters will fully understand the situation and can make an informed decision about the ending. The team meeting does not have to the played out unless people are interested or have something they want to discuss.
⬥ The encounter with Hiroto on 2/3 will be threaded out in the toplevel below. Whether Hiroto lives or dies will be determined by the characters volunteering to talk to him, and they will receive the last ofuda piece from him regardless of their decision.
⬥ The townspeople have reverted back to their previously oblivious state regarding Personas or anything supernatural.
⬥ This month, the full moon occurs on 2/8 - 2/10, when Personas are stronger but more difficult to control. This is an optional mechanic.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ There's a donkey standing in the middle of one of the roads in the morning, and Wei Wuxian is hugging it and definitely crying a little. After their tearful reunion, Wei Wuxian tries to get the donkey to move so that they're not standing in the middle of the road, but it doesn't budge. ]

We were apart for so long and you won't even listen to me? Not even just this once?

[ Later on in the day, after finally getting Little Apple to move, Wei Wuxian can be found near the edge of the forest in a small clearing. He's sitting on the grass playing his flute, while Little Apple is eating nearby. Thankfully he's not summoning any ghosts this time. ]

[ Little Apple!!!!!! Best donkey, who Ala sees with Wei Wuxian crying onto its back when she comes across them, immensely perplexed because she's never seen a creature like this in her life. It's like a small horse, but with funny rabbit ears. A really silly looking creature. She loves it already. ]

What happened? Did it kick you and make you cry?

[ At that, Wei Wuxian wipes his eyes. He didn't realize he was crying but he is a little homesick... it makes sense. ]

No, not at all! [ He hugs the donkey a little tighter, earning a huff from Little Apple. ]

This is my best friend from home! [ He says it lightly, like a joke, but isn't sure if he's entirely joking. ]

Your best friend got turned into this?

[ Like how her wolvaan charm can turn people into dogs, she thinks. Donkeys are so much cooler than dogs, though, she thinks as she pats Wei Wuxian consolingly on the arm, because that's a very valid reason to cry. And then also Little Apple on the back, just to say hello. ]

Can he talk?

...He's always been a donkey.

[ Which he knows sounds pitiful, but he really can't complain about his few friendships. ]

But no, he can't talk. At least I've never heard him speak. [ Little Apple looks at him reproachfully. ] Maybe that's a good thing.

Aw, I bet he'd have good things to say about you if he could speak! Like-

[ She goes around to the other side of the donkey so she can hide her face behind his and pretend to speak to Wei Wuxian through him. ]

Master Wei is so cool! He's my best friend and I love him a lot~

[ Little Apple doesn't look amused by this whatsoever, and the combination of the donkey's exasperation and Ala's voice has him almost doubled over laughing. ]

Wow, you should be an animal translator! I think you have a real talent for it.

[ It's totally what Little Apple would say, Ala is the best translator and her translations are 1000% accurate. ]

Right, right? I think so too! It's easy 'cause they're words from the heart, so of course he'll think all those things even though he looks like this~

[ Your grumpy face doesn't fool her, Lil' Apple, no sir. ]

From the heart, huh? I like the sound of that!

[ He kneels down so he's with the donkey's eye level. ]

Seems like Ala knows you well already! [ Wei Wuxian just gets ahuff in response. ] You know, I bet he's hungry.

[ She laughs, because it's pretty easy to believe that too. There's a good chance that any living thing is hungry at any given moment. ]

Ehehe~ You don't need me to be a translator when you already know him so well! Let's go get food! We can go back to the clubhouse!

[ There is always food in the clubhouse. Ala buys none of it and possibly eats things other people were saving, but the fact is that there's food and there's likely something Little Apple will like. ]

[ Wei Wuxian only buys a small portion of the food, and most of it is stuff no one wants to eat and it's likely Little Apple wouldn't want to either. He'll be sure to replace whatever they take, at least. ]

Good idea! [ He'll pick up the rein on the donkey, trying to gently pull him along. Naturally, Little Apple doesn't budge. ]

Come on! Don't you want food? Don't be like this...

[ He just has to make his food extra spicy and nobody would ever steal it, a good tactic. ]

Aw, what's wrong, Little Apple? Are you tired from coming all this way? Master Wei, why don't you carry him?

[ Just haul him onto your back and give him a piggyback ride, you can do it. ]

I don't think he'll like that much...

[ He can easily imagine Little Apple biting his head off if he puts him on his shoulders. ]

Besides, I don't have much arm strength anyway. [ He kneels down, so he's more at eye level with the donkey. ] There's plenty of food where we're going! Come on! I won't even make you work for it.

[ That seems to get the donkey's interest, and he finally takes a few steps forward. ]

(no subject)

parhellia - 2020-03-12 15:22 (UTC) - Expand

[ Little Apple!!!!!!!! Rei is so excited to see one in-person. She doesn't even notice Wei Wuxian crying because she's so awe-struck by the animal. ]

Wow, it's a donkey! It's so cute!!

Of course it is! This is my donkey, after all!

[ And he's still clinging to Little Apple like his life depends on it. ]

Oh, this is the donkey you were talking about!

[ She runs right up to Little Apple. ]

Can I pet him? He looks so fuzzy and his ears are so long and tall!

[ He finally stands up, giving Little Apple some space. ]

Go right ahead! He's pretty nice, as long as you're not trying to make him do work.

[ And for the moment, Little Apple just looks a little suspicious because of the unfamiliar surroundings. ]

[ Rei has never seen a donkey in real life. She's only seen cute cartoon versions in her picture books so she has no idea that Little Apple's suspicious look is anything but his normal face. She takes absolutely no caution in reaching out to try and pet him on the head. ]

[ Please do not bite her tiny hand. ]

[ Thankfully, Little Apple doesn't bite her hand, but does look a little grumpy at being pet. He's used to it, though, since Wei Wuxian is constantly petting him.

It takes all of his effort for Wei Wuxian not to breathe out a sigh of relief. Since Little Apple is a donkey he just kind of... took... because he needed to leave, he doesn't know everything about him. But he seems calm, for now. ]

Oh, I think he likes you! He's not even that nice with me!

[ I can't believe that Little Apple is just a stolen donkey... Wei Wuxian is just going around, stealing animals and expecting them to like him right off the bat. ]

R-Really? Do you think he'd like me enough to let me ride him one day?

[ He's really the embodiment of chaos... ]

Of course! I rode him right after I got him! He didn't want to move though, so I had to bribe him.

[ He pats Little Apple on top of the head. ]

[ He really is... I love looking at your icons because the art is so nice and Little Apple looks absolutely hilarious with his "done with your shit" look. ]

Donkeys can be bribed?

[ the manhua is SO good ]

Of course! Just about anyone can be bribed! [ He hopes he is imparting wisdom to her right now. ] Ah well... except one person I know, but he's the exception!

Anyway, Little Apple here loves apples. That's where his name is from.

[ Please give me a link. I am so curious. I know that there is the Netflix series, but I just get through books so much faster. ]

Oh, that's so cute! Ehehe, Little Apple loves apples!

[ She is very amused by that. Also, Wei Wuxian is definitely imparting very important wisdom. Now she's going to try and bribe everyone and everything... ]

I have a lot of apples at home! Do you want to eat them, Little Apple? I'll give them all to you.

[ i will send you a pp!! ]

Wow, you hear that Little Apple?! You're gonna have all the apples you want!

[ He will be so glad she's following his terrible example. He turns to Rei. ]

I'll buy you more apples later.

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ 2/2 Infodump

→ 2/3 - 2/29 Around Town

→ MOD NOTES

ota wc 2/13

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject