OCTOBER EVENT PT 1

[citta]

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.

Comments

[yokeye]

[He's still freaking out, trying to get Joroko to pay attention to the ravens instead, when he's pulled away. By the time he figures out what happened, he's leaning against Itsuki's arm and holding her hand again, like they were dancing. Is she- no. She's provoking the Persona! He's about to protest, but really, the end is a win for him either way.

Joroko's eyes narrow on Itsuki. Her rival, if one could call it that. She sneers; this child cannot take what is hers. Her voice is soft, but there's an underlying malice.]

I accept this challenge.

[The finality of the agreement is pointed by a leg darting out behind her to stab a raven; its lantern clattering to the floor. She slides her leg away from the still-glowing flame.]

[defragment]

Great!

[ She promptly drops Toki, but Malphas, the giant that's freakishly tall at 6'7", catches him easily and helps him stand. Even though he has a mask on, his body language seems to convey that he's worried, even though he shouldn't be.

Meanwhile, 45 readies her gun again and starts shooting. She collects the lanterns and feathers that the Ravens drop and stows them away in her small bag as she continues a slaughter. The noise only attracts more Ravens coming this way, which is pretty much more stress relief for Joroko. She doesn't intend to win, but she might as well give a show as if she cares about it. ]

[yokeye]

[Toki mutters a thank you to Malphas, not really concerned by his height, as he had a friend who was 7'3" back in France. He stands beside the Persona and watches. It's not the first time girls have fought over his affections, but it's a much stranger situation.

Joroko, in contrast, is determined to win. Less for Toki himself, and more for keeping an object she considers her possession. The ravens aren't much, and she needs nothing more than to stab them as they approach; legs darting out quickly and striking them down. She gives no thought to their lanterns or anything else they drop as they die.

A quick glance at Itsuki is spared, and the corner of Joroko's lips quirk up. She focuses six of her eyes on the ravens, one set left for Itsuki, and concentrates a psychokinetic command on a small group of the birds. It fails mostly, and only one heads straight for Itsuki from behind, with the instructions to claw her eyes out.]

[defragment]

[ Malphas heals Toki's wound by using a weak healing spell, Dia. Hope that stops the bleeding.

She's been pretty alert, since she's aware that Ravens can come from any direction since they have the entire "sky" to themselves. She's also not one to particularly stay still either, as she moves with light steps. Attendant uniform consists of long pants, which partially restricts her movement as she's used to, but she has long since adjusted to that too.

However, she just assumes that the Ravens are being... well, Ravens, so she doesn't think twice in gunning one down after stepping to the side to evade. Wow, it's like she's trained for this kind of thing?! ]

Joroko~ You can't be losing your touch, right?

[ In all honesty, she wants Joroko to kill all of them so that she herself doesn't need to deal with a kiss and waste more bullets. ]

[yokeye]

[A hiss, showing a few fangs.]

You play with things you don't understand, child~.

[She wants to rip Itsuki apart, but Toki would hate her for it and she knows this. She busies herself with a flurry of more raven stabbing, this time holding out her hands to collect whatever comes within reach. They will be offerings of lanterns and feathers, to her most precious.]

[defragment]

[ At least the feathers can be made into something more useful like fluffing a pillow. Though the other Attendants might want the lantern for whatever reason.

Soon enough, all the Ravens in the vicinity are dead and gone. The kill count is definitely in Joroko's favor. 45 straps the gun to her back to show that it's over. Malphas sighs, being glad that it's over. ]

It's Joroko's win~ Give her a cheek kiss, Toki.

[yokeye]

[He'd just watched Joroko kill viciously, and he's not really feeling that.]

You know, maybe it shouldn't have been like a contest...

[Joroko is there beside him seconds later, lowering herself down to his level, her spider legs folding elegantly. She places the lanterns and feathers down in front of Toki, then reaches out for his hand to pull him close.]

"I. Won."

You did. That was... g-good job.

[She smiles, but it's starting to creep him out. Maybe he shouldn't have flirted with her to begin with. He gives her a quick kiss on the cheek; her skin is cold. He can't really pull away too far, she's still holding his hand tightly. He's never flirting with monsters again.]

[defragment]

[ Being a flirt is dangerous, Toki... Malphas is a little intimidated by Joroko, even though they're both Personas. Meanwhile, 45 is not. The Ravens are finally gone and the path is clear to the first floor. ]

Come on, Toki. We got one more floor to go. I'll take care of the Shadows on the way.

[yokeye]

So, we just walk out of here on the first floor!? There's like no secret passageway or anything!?

[That's kind of disappointing. He's been freed from Joroko's grip, but she's positioned herself between him and Itsuki, just in case. Toki keeps glancing at her and then at the omamori he still holds. How can he get her to go back in there?]

[defragment]

Hm, no? I don't think so.

[ She glances over at Toki, and figures that he must be wondering how to dismiss his Persona. For her omamori, it's hidden in her sleeve, so she doesn't need to touch it with her hands while it's held to her skin by the long sleeved uniform. She doesn't need to say anything, but she supposes she can try to provide an example. ]

Malphas, withdraw.

[ He nods from the back and he returns inside her shadow. ]

[yokeye]

[This is turning out to be a boring rescue. No secret passageways, no trick to getting out. Oh, well. At least Itsuki was nice and doesn't mind talking to him. Toki watches Malphas disappear at her simple command. He looks at Joroko and raises an eyebrow, giving her a little nod. Please go back in the shadow. She just chuckles lowly. Toki stamps his foot and whines at her.]

Joroko! I am not impressed with you right now!

[The chuckles turn to outright laughter and the spider woman descends to the first floor, the click click click of her steps echoing. Toki shrugs at Itsuki. He tried.]

[defragment]

[ He sure did... 45 follows to the first floor and here, they can see a maze made of bales of hay that are stacked upon each other. She doesn't miss this. In fact, she finds the first floor of this School Dungeon more annoying than the other floors here. Though nothing will top the Lake Dungeon by far... Anyway, the walls look like they're easy to topple over and it might be tempting to do just that. ]

So, do you want to take the safe and long way or the short and dangerous way?

[yokeye]

Safe!

[He shouts it at the same time that Joroko demands the shorter route. Toki's having none of that. They're supposed to be able to work together, right? That's what he's gotten from this Persona nonsense. He turns to Itsuki and holds up a finger.]

Excuse me, one moment~!

[Then he's standing in front of Joroko, and there's a lot of gestures and pleading looks from his end, while she... pouts and crosses her arms. More gestures, emphatically pointing at Itsuki, and finally a compromise of sorts is reached, Joroko stalking back into the shadow with a huff. Toki shoves the omamori back into his pocket and returns to Itsuki.]

Okay! Well will take the safer path~! After you!

[defragment]

[ It shouldn't be amusing to watch, but it is. She just keeps up her smile and starts leading Toki inside the maze. She's gotten the hang of this place, so it'll be fine. Maybe it goes to show how safe it is when she doesn't ready her gun while she's walking. ]

Wanna guess what would have happened if you took the shorter path?

[yokeye]

[He remembers this maze well, but he never got far and ended up hiding behind anything he could find and covering his eyes until it was over. He's lucky he's alive, really.]

Imminent doom and certain death!?

[He laughs, but he means every word of that.]

[defragment]

Correct!

[ Ding ding ding! ]

If you try to cheat your way out of the maze, such as knocking the walls over, or trying to fly over it, all the Shadow monsters in the vicinity will angrily attack you like homing missiles.

[ Basically, you draw aggro of everything around you and die. ]

[yokeye]

Oh my god!

[He's absolutely going to knock something over accidentally one of these times and bring that wrath down upon him. He needs to make a better alliance with Joroko. Or...]

Hey! I have a question! Can you like... trade Personas?

[defragment]

No.

[ ]

Don't say things like that~ You'll make her sad! Besides, Personas are something that comes from you. You can't trade them like they're collectibles.

[yokeye]

[Oh shit. She will make him pay for that comment the next time she comes out. She's always listening.]

Right. It's... part of me. Oh! Something else!

[He holds up the omamori.]

Okay, so like, I get the name thing because it belongs to me, but what's this for?

[He points to the word "lovers". Arcana is unknown to him.]

[defragment]

[ She looks over at the omamori and hm. She looked up what the Arcanas were, since she also had no knowledge of it, but she doesn't seem to notice it's upside down. Mostly because she doesn't think it matters. ]

Maybe yours is "lovers" because you're a flirt.

[yokeye]

[Well, that's embarrassing. It makes him sound shallow, which well, he is, but he has other attributes this omamori could have drawn attention to instead.]

Maybe~! I guess it doesn't mean much.

[The maze of hay bails seems to go on forever, feathers left here and there on the ground. As they walk by some garden tools, Toki grabs a shovel. Just in case. He'd rather not have to bring the Persona out again if more ravens attack.]

[defragment]

Haha, if you want the detailed description, you can just say so!

[ They have time to kill. It's fine. 45 continues to look around, eventually pausing to look this way and that before crossing an intersection. It looks like it's going smoothly. ]

The stuff that's written on your charm aside from your name is the Arcana. Lovers Arcana usually signifies love, harmony, relationships, alignment of values, and choices. They're also depicted in cards, where it's usually a drawing of Adam and Eve, the snake, the fruit of knowledge depicted as an apple, and an angel that looks from above.

[ And other phallic imagery, but she'll just skip that for both of their sakes. ]

In general, the Lovers is a card of open communication and raw honesty. So you can decide what it means to you--whether it's something you want to keep in mind or something you can consider as complete bogus.

[yokeye]

[His brain is melting from all that information. He's not going to remember much of it, and he can't see any connection to himself from it besides maybe wanting some of those things; love and other meaningful relationships. He may be openly communicative, but it always comes out wrong and honesty tends not to work in his favor.]

Yeah, it's bullshit.

[And he will think no more on it. He flings the omamori over the next wall of hay.]

[defragment]

[ She didn't expect him to remember it all, but she'll immediately summon Malphas beyond the wall to retrieve Toki's omamori. They eventually meet up in the maze instead of him flying over the wall nor breaking it. 45 takes the omamori and turns to Toki. ]

Hey... Do you have a death wish?

[ She's going to duct tape this thing on his hand depending on his answer. ]

[yokeye]

[No, don't bring it back.]

I'm not going to die if I get rid of it!

[He's more likely to die a slow death by suffocation in spider webs or something if he keeps it.]

Really, there's a lot of people around here with those, right!? I'll just... stay out the way and they can take care of this... dungeon uprising or whatever! I can feed the cats!