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AUGUST EVENT PT 2

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→ 8/13-8/15 Obon Festival

Lanterns start to dot the streets, hung by the front door of each house who still have an able body to hang them. From there, the lights spread outward, neighbors visiting neighbors with lanterns in hand and prayers in their hearts that the light will be enough to guide the spirits of their ancestors home, enough to heal their loved ones and bring the health and energy back into town.

The first day of Obon passes in silence.

On the second day, the oppressive heat starts to lift, skies clear with a cool breeze that passes through the streets and rocks the lanterns at each door, which opens as people trickle out onto the street. By late afternoon, the entire town is alive with chatter and laughter, the townspeople bustling about to get their late start in setting up the festival stalls and the large stage set on the lakeside in front of the school. Some of the missing have started turning up again, with claims of having recovered from illness or returned from a trip, and more than that, visiting relatives are introduced to one another despite no car or plane ever seen entering or leaving the town. With most businesses closed for the Obon holiday, the second day is spent catching up with one another, making last-minute purchases and renting yukata, and finishing preparations so that both the spirits of their ancestors and those who have become well enough again may celebrate with all in full. By the end of the night, everybody has returned, the town restored.

Loud drumming can be heard the morning of the third day, taiko drum performances starting early and lasting late into the evening. The steady beat fills the air no matter where in town you are, but standing right in front of the stage, it can be felt in your chest, as if the entire town's hearts beat as one. Though less compared to during the tanabata festival, stalls are set up for Obon and largely consist of games and shops selling toys and trinkets, food stalls focusing on small treats rather than meals. With the taiko performance in the background to keep the rhythm, folk dances are held on the stage and in the parks and are open to anybody, participants being pulled in from the streets to join the circles to dance. Traditional clothing like yukata can be seen worn by almost everybody, from young children to great-grandparents, as they gather around the lake at sundown to say farewell to the spirits. Lanterns are lit and sent off into the lake, where they gather at the center and burn bright until there's nothing left to burn, and the town settles into warm, sleepy darkness.

When night falls and the townspeople begin to clean up, retrieve the lanterns, and go home, the breeze picks up a little, soft and cool, cutting paths throughout town much like the freezing gusts of winds that first Lockdown night. Rather than to the schoolhouse, however, the wind gently nudges you towards the forest, towards the edge of forest blocked by caution tape to keep people out of scorched earth and blackened trees. Only one lantern is left untouched, hanging on a tree branch just before this forest fire site, fallen trees cleared out to widen the path, that leads into the forest.

Soon, the full moon hangs high in the sky, shining its light straight down onto the castle ruins below.

→ 8/15 Castle Ruins and the Shrine

Carried along by the breeze that winds through the streets and blows down this path, finding your way through the forest becomes simple, and soon the trees part to reveal the castle ruins hidden away inside the forest -—at least, what used to be castle ruins. The changes come unexpected and instantly, in a blink of an eye during the day for those who still live in the castle, and a sight to behold for those who haven't returned in a long time until tonight.

Entering the castle reveals a repaired foundation and pillars which stand whole again, stairs to the second floor still broken but with all the rubble underneath cleared away, the air inside the castle no longer choking with dust. In the main hall, red candlesticks line the perimeter of the room, the glow of fire illuminating the murals that have shown up on previously blank walls, images faintly visible under a layer of yellow mildew. If you carefully scrub them clean, they depict a small village surrounded by farmland, a familiar lake at the center, flocks of crows adorning the skies with one large crow standing on the peak of the mountain overlooking the town.

At the center of the castle's main hall, a mother bear and two cubs can be seen snoozing in the middle of the room, sleeping next to a meter-by-meter square that has been cut into the stone ground. If you can get the bears to leave or are brave enough to approach without waking them up, you will see that hinges on one edge suggest it to be a door, but there is no handle and no way to lift the panel, nor can the door or the surrounding area be damaged no matter how hard you try. Upon closer inspection, there are four impressions on each corner of the door matching the size and shape of the ofuda received as a reward for defeating the dungeon boss, currently in RO's possession. Placing the ofuda on one of the slots causes the edges of the door to glow bright blue for a second before the light disappears, and the ofuda turns to stone, just like the door and the castle around them. Nothing more seems to happen after, the other three impressions remaining exactly the same.

All throughout the night, the candles burn along the perimeter of the hall, one hundred in total that cast the room in warm light. Whether you remember the fortune teller's words or are simply chatting with one another and catching up on all that's happened during your time here, each time a story is shared, a light blows out, leaving the castle dimmer and dimmer as the night goes on. The darker it gets, the more restless you begin to feel, Personas becoming more agitated and prone to lash out as the clock ticks closer to midnight. Those who choose to take a walk to the shrine to cool their heads find that the shrine looks different from before too, revealing unbroken steps, a thoroughly swept floor, stone lanterns whole instead of crumbled and broken, and the water basin filled to the brim with clear water that almost seems to sparkle in the moonlight— a far cry from how broken down the abandoned shrine appeared just a month before. There's still work to be done, however: in particular, the sign- restored and painted over in pure white so that it looks almost new- still displays no name. The paint is still a little wet, so perhaps somebody is just waiting for the paint to dry...

The night seems to drag on, but as long as people keep talking, no matter where they are in the castle or at the shrine, the candle lights continue going out until they count down to zero.

→ 8/15 Welcome to the Velvet Room

When the last of the candles go out and the castle plunges into complete darkness, a bright blue light begins to shine from beside the throne, taking on the form of a doorway set into the wall. Without fanfare, two figures step out, the taller with silver hair and a kind face, and the other with golden eyes that peek past long bangs to squint at everybody inside the castle. ...The latter immediately turns around back through the doorway to leave his partner to explain things to everybody here, who takes a seat on the throne as if he belongs there all along. If you have questions, come talk to this guy; but otherwise, there's nothing stopping you from going through the doorway to follow after the other one.

This isn't the only doorway that opens up: blue light shines between the pillars of the torii at the shrine, and similar doorways appear scattered throughout town to replace your bedroom door, the bathroom stall in a store you've run into for an emergency, set into the wall in an alleyway where there was no door before, even at the first floor of the school dungeon if for whatever reason you're there. Regardless of which door you enter, stepping through any doorway brings you into a small room, a bowl of fresh fruit and a bottle of some sort of non-alcoholic mixed drink in a bucket of ice sitting on the table in the middle of the room, two chairs flanking the table and a plush velvet couch against one wall. The ground shakes and rocks as you look around, curtains pulled aside to reveal inky blue darkness, spots of light floating past the windows out in the distance like stars. Each person arrives in their own room, a placard with their name and arcana set on the door labelling it theirs.

Down the end of the hall, the door opens up into a brightly lit lounge, wide windows set along the walls although the landscape outside remains as dark as ever. The lounge is filled with chairs and couches covered in the same blue velvet as the rooms and music seems to fill your entire being rather than just your ears. Passing through the door at the end of the lounge brings you to the conductor's cab where a young man sits, changed out of his costume into a more formal uniform in dark blues with a train engineer cap pulled low over closed eyes, slouched far back on his seat with his feet up on the control panel. Despite all that, however, the train simply zips along, the rail just barely visible from the front window of the cab. The attendant tilts his head your way, looking rather irritable, silent until you speak first.

→ MOD NOTES

⬥ As a reminder, characters are more likely to lose control of their Personas around the time of the full moon (8/15) but this can also occur at any time, especially with internal conflict and during Lockdown. This is an optional mechanic. Personas will also temporarily disappear once the character enters the Velvet Room.
⬥ The two Velvet Room assistants will have their own top-levels below for those who wish to speak with them in this log, and they may be contacted at the NPC contact page at any time as well. The NPC contact page will serve as an "IC inbox" for the characters to freely interact with the attendants to ask questions, receive and fill requests, hang out, etc. Please read this page carefully for more information about accessing the Velvet Room.
⬥ While each attendant may have individual requests for those who ask for them, they will also give tasks for the characters as a whole. These general requests will be listed on the NPC contact page at the beginning of each month. Successful completion of a request will earn characters rewards, and there is no time limit for completion.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It happened a month ago in the middle of town in broad daylight.

[ Stop flashing your legs, Souji... it's hard to concentrate. ]

[ no, look at his smooth legs :) ]

And what was your Persona doing?

He was trying to bite my head off and chased me around town.

[ ... ]

You're not gonna give me a vague answer and not say anything more like that other guy, right?

[ PLEASE ]

[ souji laughs a bit at terry's question. hahaha ]

Well, we're guides. We're supposed to nudge you in the right direction. We could give you some straightforward answers like what we know about this world and basic things about your Persona, but this is something that you have to do and figure out on your own.

[ okay, he'll uncross his legs now since terry seems DISTRACTED and stands up. ]

It kind of seems like you already know the answer, anyway.

[ Terry squints at Souji for a bit. It kinda feels like he got the same answer from Minato, except his was much more implied about the "seems like you already know the answer" part. He didn't want to be right for once... ]

If that's the case, do you do the same thing as that guy did back in there? He summoned a Persona that I know belongs to someone else... or are you going to tell me that's another thing I need to find out myself?

[ Terry was going to kill Minato when he summoned Rei's Persona... jesus. ]

Maybe.

[ haha. souji stretches a bit before he starts to turn towards the door. ]

Come inside for a bit. It'd be cooler and we'd be able to talk a bit more comfortably.

[ Back in there again? Terry looks a little wary, but Souji seems nicer... on the other hand... ]

Can you do something about the rock music? I normally wouldn't mind but it makes it harder to focus.

[ souji laughs again. he takes the blouse from the armrest and walks towards the door. he'll open it and wait to terry to follow. ]

We'll go into one of the quieter rooms. I'd do something about the music but I'm afraid that Minato will hiss at me if I try to change it.

That's the name of the blue hair guy?

[ For all he knows, there could be a DJ in a secret room somewhere. ]

... But that sounds good. Thanks.

[ At least Souji kinda sounds like he cares. ]

[ souji nods to both terry's question and his thanks then starts to lead the way. they arrive in the usual room that everyone starts with, but he'll exit and walk down the halls. he'll eventually walk into one of the unmarked rooms. it looks relatively the same as the others and souji will motion for terry to sit wherever he wants. ]

So, which Persona did Minato show you?

[ he refers back to earlier when terry said that minato summoned a persona that someone else had. as he speaks, he opens up the closet and starts to go through the clothes. ]

[ Terry sits down on the couch. At least this one won't be bloodied. ]

Mine and... uh... Ananke. He used the latter to heal me.

[ The healing sensation was familiar too, which kinda creeped him out. ]

If Personas are--

Edited 2019-08-13 17:51 (UTC)

Wait, are you gonna change here?!

[ ?????? ]

Mm?

[ souji looks over his shoulder at terry. he's still sorting through the clothes. ]

Yeah and so are you. What's up?

W-What?!

[ Souji?!?!?!

This definitely was not what he expected. Help. ]

Why do I have to change?!

You're covered in blood and I'm the one who has to clean up after your stains.

[ he pulls out a short-sleeved collared shirt and brown pants. he lays them over the table. ]

I think these should fit. We seem about the same size.

[ They're normal clothes. He doesn't have to wear a skirt!! A part of him is relieved, but, well... maybe he should stop being so wary, but he can't really help it. Today has been a real... tiring day. He feels high strung from everything that happened, and just... well, they're free clothes. Why not. They seem to be the right size anyway, like Souji said. So after some thinking, he gives in. ]

... Fine.

[ Since he has to change his pants too, he starts pulling out the stuff from his pockets: a roll of bandages, a small kitchen knife with a sheathe (it's clean but looks used), omamori, and that hideous "unbreakable" charger cord. All that is going on the table. ]

Can you turn around or something...

[ souji is giving away his boring clothes. those cute skirts are meant for him!! ]

We're both guys, you know. I'm not going to be seeing anything new.

[ Good... he'd rather take the boring clothes. Less shopping for him to do for himself!!

Terry wants to retort that... what Souji said isn't the issue, but fuck it. Fuck reasoning. He'll just change his clothes very quickly under 15 seconds. He has way too many scars under where his clothes would normally be... ]

Whew.

[ don't worry, terry, souji doesn't stare. plus, he turns back to the closet to pull out his own clothes. he supposes that he should get back into uniform so he starts to pull out all the pieces out and drapes them over a chair. ]

So, I think you were trying to ask something before you overreacted?

[ once he grabs everything, he sits down at one of the chairs and begins to undo his heels. ]

I--

[ --didn't overreact. No, he totally did and it seems Terry is aware of that, because he grumbles in response. ]

... I thought that Personas were supposed to be a manifestation of our souls or... something. I dunno. I don't have a soul. [ ... ] Anyway, if that's the case, how is it possible for that Minato guy to summon the same one we have?

Hm...

[ souji begins to undo his tie and unbutton his shirt as he thinks for a moment. he's trying to figure out a way to take all this general knowledge floating in his head into words. he probably didn't get to talk in detail about everything with minato. they both generally share the same amount of knowledge so no need to discuss and deal with the trouble of putting things into easily digestible words. ]

All right, let's start with this. "Persona". Do you know what it means?

[ ... ]

What I just said and... things we summons to fight for us?

[ Terry in the meantime, will stuff all his belongings into his pants pocket. He doesn't need to stare at Souji undress. god. ]

[ don't look away, terry ;) ]

Let's go simpler than that. Say if you look up "Persona" in the dictionary, what would you find? Or if I use it in a sentence like "that happy-go-lucky attitude of his is just a persona", what does that mean?

[ lmfao i always said that my version of souji would become a teacher so i guess here it is. i get to finally rp teacher souji ]

Uh...

[ He has never been good at this kind of thing, but he can try. ]

A side of you? A... facet? Of a personality??

[ Terry isn't even sure if he used that word right. ]

Yeah. It's a side of you, but everyone has multiple sides, right? Think about how you interact with various different people or groups. How you'd act in front of your family would be different from how you'd act in front of your coworkers, and how you'd act when you're pretending to be happy would be different from when you actually are genuinely happy.

[ by this point, souji has taken off his shirt and will now be putting on his new shirt, buttoning it up. he's slow as he speaks, choosing his words carefully but also going in a pace that terry could keep up with. ]

And now think about how other people perceive you. Another version of your "self" is created in their minds. In short, there are multiple versions of you, whether it's from yourself or from others. Just as how a Shadow and a Persona are from the same core source, they represent different aspects and perceptions of an individual.

[ are you keeping up, t-chan ]

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ 8/13-8/15 Obon Festival

→ 8/15 Castle Ruins and the Shrine

→ 8/15 Welcome to the Velvet Room

→ MOD NOTES

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