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OCTOBER EVENT PT 1

OCTOBER EVENT PT1

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→ 10/3 Rain, rain, go away

As summer draws to a close and the season turns to autumn, the forest gradually starts to warm into golds and reds, starting from the mountains and working inwards towards the town. The first few drops of rain bring with them relief from the heat that had taken hold of the summer months, and the intermittent showers turn into constant downpours by the weekend. For the rest of the month, the rain is unrelenting, the sky cast in heavy grey clouds that refuse to part for the sun for even the briefest of moments, leaving October a month of constant darkness both night and day.

Without an ocean to drain into, the rainwater instead runs down the streets and drags dirt and debris from the forest along with it, ultimately collecting in the lake at the center of town and turning it muddy grey. The children have fun splashing in the puddles, until the worms and snails come crawling out and then there's more terrified shrieking than shouts of laughter, but it's kind of nice sitting by a window with a cup of hot tea while listening to the sound of pattering rain/screaming children outside. Only, the rain doesn't stop, worrying the townspeople enough that they start to talk about preparations for flooding. There really is no higher ground to move to, unless people want to trek all the way up to the mountains, so efforts are instead focused on keeping the water level controlled. Everybody is encouraged to pitch in filling and setting sandbags to build dams around the buildings to keep the water out, to donate non-perishable food and other emergency supplies to make sure there's enough to distribute to those who need them, and to take in what stray cats they're able to care for so that none of them are put in danger of the rushing water outside.

For the duration of the month, both the inn and the school are allowing people to stay in the second floor of the inn and the second story classrooms, free of charge. It's hard to say whether the ghosts in the inn are happy about all the extra company, with the wailing in between the walls getting louder as the month progresses, and some people say they hear giggling at times, which stops the moment they get closer. At the school, there are the Seven School Mysteries to contend with instead. They're all the typical things: the painting of the school founder whose eyes follow you around as you walk down the entrance hall, the bust in the art room that cries blood and stains the stone red, an anatomical model from the science lab that suddenly comes to life and chases people out of the room, the piano in the music room that plays by itself when nobody is in the room, a ghost haunting the bathrooms that locks all the doors when you really have to go, a goat man roaming the halls who chases and knocks anybody out cold if they aren't in a classroom between 4:00-4:05 PM, and ghostly hands that grab your wrists and ankles if you try to enter the gymnasium after sundown.

All these things are real. School's haunted.

→ 10/11-10/12 Paantu Festival

As the lake fills up, more water starts to slosh out of it than what drains in, contaminating the drinking water, causing the townspeople to fall ill, and sapping all the light and the heat from the days. It's never rained this hard and this long before, people are saying. The gods must be angry. Something must have happened or somebody must have done something to curse the town, and now everybody is suffering the consequences of it.

While some people sit around and hope for the best, others decide to take matters in their own hands and revive a forgotten tradition in an effort to save the town: the Paantu Festival. For these two days, several dozen Paantu are seen roaming the streets, humanoid forms covered in branches and leaves stuck onto their bodies with thick, sticky mud, wearing wooden masks over their faces and carrying walking sticks as they chase after anybody still wandering outside. The Paantu scoop mud off the ground and smear them on people's houses, the shops and the school and even the hospital doesn't get spared. It's difficult to get anywhere in town without being ambushed and having a handful of mud thrown at your face, especially with how wet and slippery the streets have become.

As the Paantu are meant to spread good luck and scare away evil spirits, it's ill advised to attack the creatures, although some little kids inadvertently do as they kick and scream and try to get away, and doing so causes a day of bad luck to befall the attacker. When unmasked, some of the Paantu are revealed to be villagers playing the roles, but other times, the Paantu transforms into a cackling demon that jumps out and tries to grab onto your body. These demons cannot be destroyed, but if you're able to remove them, either by force or by persuasion, they'll leave behind a gold coin as thanks for playing with them. Unfortunately, the townspeople aren't able to see the demon Paantu, so if mud hits them on the back of the head and you're the only one standing there, they can only blame one person and that person is you. Better run, punk.

Parents jokingly tell their kids that the Paantu will take them away if they misbehave, but as the last of the Paantu are caught and unmasked, it's found that some people have disappeared in the chaos, old and young alike. Even in the days after the festival, the mud gets washed away, but missing posters go up— including those for the owners of the occult shop so many of you rely on for income, and the shop is temporarily closed. So much for driving out bad luck.

→ 10/13-10/27 No, seriously, please go away

If anything, things just seem to get worse after the festival. With the lake saturated and nowhere else for the water to go, the town starts to flood, two feet by mid-month, with the water level rising exponentially higher until the town is drowning in eight feet of water by the end of the month, rendering all those sandbags useless. Although the water is largely still now instead of rushing towards the center of town, it's still mixed with the toxins from the lake and those who fall in or try to swim in it will eventually become ill, suffering chills and a fever and pressure in their chest that makes it difficult to breathe. Souji and Minato will be glad to have you over for tea any time to get rid of that poison, but unfortunately the tea doesn't help those who aren't Persona users. In order to make a tea that will help the townspeople, you'll have to help the Attendants gather the ingredients for it and fill their request.

On the 14th, the power goes out everywhere except the hospital, which has emergency generators, but those won't last forever either. In the following days, thunder roars in the distance, and lightning begins to flash across the sky, providing the only light now that both the sun and the moon are hidden above the clouds. By some miracle, the lightning never hits the town and electrocutes everybody in it, but it does hit the mountains from time to time, breaking the rock and causing avalanches to fall and smother the forest. At times, little pebbles of hail fall from the sky, and other times, it's frogs and fish that plop down into the water despite there being no ocean in Hirajiro.

Throughout the month, rain continues to fall even during Lockdown. The moon still cannot be seen, but in the area around the lake, faint blue light glows underwater to guide people towards the dungeon, and no Shadows leave this dungeon or the school dungeon to swim through town. For those taking shelter in the school, it still transforms into the previous dungeon during Lockdown, spitting people out onto a random floor and separating those who were together when midnight strikes. In these two dungeons, characters may find some reprieve from the rain, but none of the floors have a sun or a moon to provide light, and it becomes very humid. Yeah. You thought the fourth floor of the lake dungeon was hell already, but now it's 122°F/50°C with 100% humidity.

→ MOD NOTES

⬥ We're doing great, guys. In order to fight the lake dungeon boss, 2 more coin threads must be completed and submitted by 10/14.
⬥ To determine the outcome of the boss battle, a minimum of 10 threads across the entire player base from September's dungeon post is required, with a maximum of 2 threads turned in per player, containing at least 5 comments for each character. These threads may not overlap with coin threads but may be threads started in September or October. The deadline for defeating the boss is 10/31.
⬥ The raining and flooding will continue through the month until 10/27, with part 2 of the event going up on 10/28, but the pouring rain will noticeably lessen once the boss is defeated and the ofuda is returned to the castle. At the worst of the flooding, single story buildings in town will be almost fully submerged, but the water level does not extend as high in the forest and both the castle and shrine will be left untouched by the flood during the month, although they'll still get rained on.
⬥ This month, the full moon (despite not being visible) occurs on 10/12-10/14, and Personas may behave strangely and disobey orders. This is an optional mechanic.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It's not the worst pain she's felt, not by a long shot. But there's a reason she's still supposed to be hospitalized, and her breaths are light to try to avoid aggravating the wound any further.

She doesn't even try to hold back the tears. They might work in her favor here, wherever... here is. Not the type of room she'd expect to be attached to castle ruins, but she'll work with what she's got.]

H-help... i-is there a hospital...?

Yeah.

[ There sure is a hospital, but it's way out there and Minato sure doesn't trust himself to carry any critically injured person. ]

You're not in any immediate danger of dying...

[ Which would be Souji's criteria for immediately healing somebody without question, so anything less severe, Minato can handle at his own pace. ]

...I can fix it, if you want. But you'll have to do something for me in exchange.

[So he can tell? It's mildly surprising, but maybe he's just guessing based on appearances, or maybe he really does have some experience with first aid. Either way:]

Do something... like what?

[She sounds. So unsure. About that.]

[ ...Haha. That was worded badly, but Minato remains unfazed. ]

Do you know any bad jokes?

[She just stares at him blankly for a moment before venturing with:]

How much is ikura?

["Ikura wa ikura?"

Is this a sufficient enough pun. Please. She's not dying but it still hurts.]

[ Rio gets a blank look in response ]

...How much?

[ Somehow, he's missed that the punchline was already delivered ]

The joke is because "ikura" and "ikura" sound alike.

[Weh.]

Is that bad enough...?

Oh. Yeah, that was terrible.

[ Satisfied, Minato pushes himself up onto his feet, the figure of Messiah shimmering into view behind him and casting Salvation on Rio, mending her bones and any other injuries she has, but the pain still lingers somewhat. ]

Is that better?

[When he mentioned fixing, she assumed he meant providing first aid. She did not expect... whatever that is to appear out of nowhere and magically healing her.]

Eh-

Wh-what was that?!

It's, uh...

[ How to explain a Persona? ]

A soul monster. That was Messiah. You have one too, but yours is not as cool as mine.

[ haha

Anyways, Minato leans back a little, rubbing his hands on the fabric inside his pockets. It really is convenient having the door right there in the castle; they catch a lot of newcomers that way. ]

Did you find a little charm with your name on it? Let me see it.

[Yeah she's not. Completely acting anymore? What. What.

Numbly, she reaches into her breast pocket and pulls out a pink amulet with a crow on it. "RIO STAR" is embroidered on the fabric.]

[ Minato's silent for a moment, hands in his pockets as he leans to look at the omamori, with no intentions of touching it. ]

...Zashiki Warashi... Cool.

[ And then he leans back, throwing a glance over Rio's shoulder at the door behind her. ]

Wanna go and say hi?

[Twitch.]

Z-Zashiki Warashi...?

[That had better not be...]

Yeah.

[ Neither of my characters take pity on cute small children... In Minato's case, though, he just assumes Rio is repeating the name so she can memorize it. He helpfully repeats it too. ]

Zashiki Warashi. Let's go outside.

[Oh, she knows that well enough. She's been called one at least once in her life.

Holding back a sigh, she'll follow Minato outside.]

Um... Now what?

Hold your omamori and tell your Persona to come out.

[ He's not sure if Rio can feel her Persona inside her, but it doesn't matter much whether the request is kept inside her mind or said out loud. ]

Any time you want to summon, all you have to do it touch the charm. Having a command in mind helps too, whether it's to attack, or be a portable AC, or to just come out and say hi.

My Persona...?

[She's familiar with the word, but this use of it is... certainly surreal. Still, she humors him, holding on tight to the amulet as though praying.]

Um... Come out, Zashiki Warashi!

[She is rewarded with the appearance of an adorable little Persona. Hiiii ♪]

H-huh?!

[ Minato nods and stands back a little, but when Zashiki Warashi comes out, he looks rather pleased. He loves Personas, and this one is cute. ]

You did it. Cool, huh? Zashiki Warashi will always be by your side, and will help keep you safe.

S-safe?

[She can't help but eye the Persona warily, even as the Persona... mostly just waves cheerfully at Minato.

How is this... tiny child spirit supposed to keep her safe??]

Mmhm. Safe.

[ Minato's just going to repeat his words whenever Rio does it too, because maybe she's hard of hearing and the confirmation will be comforting. ]

How I healed you with my Persona, she can do it too. She also knows two other spells, but I'm not going to tell you what they are. Figure them out yourself.

[How helpful...]

Ah- she can heal too? [That is useful.] But how am I supposed to figure the other ones out?

[ Yeah... Rio drew the short straw on which Attendant got to her first. ]

Hm... Easiest way is to just ask her. Can you feel an extra presence inside you?

[Souji, save her...

She doesn't really like that wording, because literal devil child but...]

How do you tell if it's another presence?

[She does try to be more mindful of her current state of mind, however. She isn't in a violent mood, so that's good... but...

She does feel something... different.]

You sort of... just feel it...?

[ Souji would have been so much better at explaining this, but Minato tries anyways, glancing down with his gaze slightly unfocused and he can feel all the Personas immediately and easily, which makes it hard to describe because they're just there for him. ]

...It feels like intention, or feeling, or sometimes they'll talk to you if you're quiet and you listen. Like... I can tell that Orpheus is bored, and that Nekogami is restless. Marduk is angry. Byakko's tired... Something like that.

[She frowns slightly, looking over to Zashiki Warashi, who is now more interested in looking around at her surroundings. She does feel a certain sense of curiosity, but that could also be explained through normal means, couldn't it?

Well, she's also a literal devil child watching some kind of... summoned child spirit walk around. She may need to adjust her expectations here.]

So if I just ask her now, she'll tell me what she can do?

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ 10/3 Rain, rain, go away

→ 10/11-10/12 Paantu Festival

→ 10/13-10/27 No, seriously, please go away

→ MOD NOTES

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