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[open] there will always be a tomorrow

DUNGEON INTERLUDE

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→ 10/16 Lockdown

As of the lockdown phase on the 16th of October, Terrence Nowell has gone missing. He seems to have vanished without a trace--the trace of the cinnamon smell that he always gives off is nowhere to be found. Something is a little different about this Lockdown period. Despite how it's the middle of the month, a strong and powerful wind will flow towards the residential area, where it leads people to a very dark alleyway that's hard to see through. The wind seems to stop at an open sewer hole that's still draining whatever water that's left around it, but it seems that there's less water here than everywhere else. Was that there before? No, but it's there now, and it'll be there every time Lockdown occurs. Watch your step, lest you fall in... For those who don't like following the wind, they'll find themselves battered in the head with the occasional flying cats. Given enough time during the lockdown, these cats will pretty much infest every corner of Hirajiro with all their incessant meowing and rainbow trails as they fly around. Though, of course, they'll always be gone when Lockdown is lifted.

→ 1st Floor

If you dare to venture into the sewer hole, whether you fell in or took the ladder on the way down, you'll eventually find the floor that is covered in thick smoke. It can't be blown off due to the sheer amount there is. Luckily, the Velvet Room portal is right there at the foot of the ladder for easy access. The sky appears to be blue, but the weather feels strangely stagnant for some reason. The scenery might as well be some rendition of candyland, with lots of sweets everywhere used as building structure, a long path made of taffy over the small hills that doesn't seem to stick onto your shoes, lollipops for trees, cotton candy for bushes... you get the idea. You can try to eat the sweets, but they all taste like dusty metal and don't break off. It seems like a relatively happy place, but once you start looking for the stairwell that leads to the next floor, you can't seem to find it.

Things aren't always what they seem to be...

SOMNIUM
Type SHADOW	Resists NONE	Weak NUCLEAR
In the vast candyland, perhaps you'll be lucky enough to come across a fox-shaped shadow that has a mask over it with the chime of a bell. These are very small, quick, annoying to hit and very evasive. If your Persona's agility can surpass 10 or above, you'll be able to catch it or cast an AoE spell to cover for your lack of speed. It's fairly weak, so it'll most likely be killed in one or two shots. Only one will appear on the entire floor at a time. They respawn 5 minutes after the death of the previous one. More details below. Small yellow bells and black fox masks can be collected as loot.

MORSUS
Type SHADOW	Resists WIND	Weak FIRE, LIGHT
So, those flying cats that you saw? Once you kill a Somnium, the illusion breaks, revealing their true forms as bat-like Shadows. They come to attack in swarms, only casts Life Drain and Spirit Drain, and often perform those two skills all at once to suck the the majority of life and spirit out of a target in one go. Dangerous. They are also easy to kill, but you better have your AoE spells handy or you might get overwhelmed with sudden loss of HP and SP from sheer numbers. However, the above only applies when the illusion is broken. When under the guise of nyancats, they only smack people by running into them. Small clear pouches of sparkling rainbow glitter (as nyancat) or torn bat wings (as bats) can be collected as loot.

Once the illusion is shattered by killing a Somnium, the characters will realize that they had been walking through occasional giant puddles of blood on the ground when the smoke clears from the ground, the sky is red, and all the little structures of candy were wrecked buildings akin to a post-apocalyptic setting. However, the illusion rebuilds itself after five minutes of the fox shadow's death, turning the entire floor into candyland again with flying nyancats in which characters are forced to go hunt for the respawned Somnium again. It's a very vast floor.

During the five-minute window of the broken illusion, characters will be able to find the entrance to the stairwell to the next floor. When the illusion returns after five minutes, the stairwell entrance disappears and reappears in a different location when the illusion is broken again. That's not the only problem with the stairwell...

To get to the next floor, each character has to answer a very personal and guilt tripping question that will make them feel absolutely terrible after. The barrier will come in the form of an invisible wall that cannot be broken until the answer is given. The answer doesn’t necessarily have to be objectively true, but it can’t be a lie. The question will be announced out loud in the nearby characters' heads, but it will be addressed to the character themselves when asking. If in a group, the walls are stacked upon each other and each wall will break after everyone present in the group has answered their own personal questions. If everyone in the group hasn't answered their questions in five minutes, it's back to fox hunting for you guys.

The wall only needs to be broken once by a character. It won’t reform the next time they come back to the dungeon.

→ 2nd Floor

On the next floor, you will be greeted by the red sky, even darker than the previous floor's. You stand on a very sturdy white square pillar, about 20ft x 20ft in size. When you look forward, you can see similar huge square pillars alternating in white and black that have risen from the void, all apart at a set distance away from each other, but it's very clear that you can't make it by jumping. To get to the stairwell to the next floor, you either need to have some method of air transportation to get to there safely, or take the intended method.

The intended method from getting to pillar to pillar is kicking a can off the corner of the pillar, which makes a transparent skinny bridge to the next pillar that disintegrates very quickly over time. Only one person can cross a bridge at a time, unless you want to risk having people fall into the void. The can respawns at the same corner after the previous bridge fully disintegrates.

Those who fall off the pillars will fall unconscious and wake up in the exit of the dungeon (next to the sewer hole) with 1 HP and 0 SP and inflicted with a Forget debuff that lasts 15 minutes. Players have the choice to make their character forget whatever they want along with their Persona being skill sealed, whether that’s an important body function like breathing or a precious memory, or something trivial like what they ate for dinner last night. They’ll regain whatever they lost 15 minutes after waking up.

BLACK RAVEN
Type Shadow	Resists WIND	Weak ELECTRICITY
Remember me? These pesky Raven Shadows are back, lanterns and all. They mostly move together in huge flocks now instead of being separated. They shoot gusts of winds in an attempt to blow characters off the pillars or stick to their usual divebombing tactic. They sometimes flock around Alt-Vassago. Feathers and lanterns can be collected as loot.

ALT-VASSAGO
Type F.O.E.	Nulls PHYSICAL	Weak LIGHT
This strange demonic being riding a gator are on top of every black pillar. He is the F.O.E. of this dungeon. At first, he will only move to push the characters off the pillars. However, if you attack it, whether it hits or misses, it inflicts a Rage debuff on itself and ferociously attacks you and try to push you off. A single physical hit from it will probably knock you out in one shot if your endurance is 9 and lower. It has a ton of HP, so it's best to avoid the fight entirely and quickly move to the next pillar. However, if you need to buy some time, please take advantage of its messy rage debuff to lure and trick it into falling off the pillar. There will be one minute until the next one respawns on the same pillar, so you better get off the pillar fast. It also has a tendency to repeat "kill them all" in a very creepy voice when under the Rage debuff.

NOCEO
Type SHADOW	Repels LIGHT	Weak DARK, WIND
These smog shadows take on a humanoid shape, but their forms fizzes out often like static. They move slow like aimless zombies and stick together in hordes and respawn very often. They constantly have smog coming out of where their mouths are supposed to be. They're also very weak, but tends to cast Brainwash debuff very often so the characters can fight for them. They also tend to make a hideously loud emergency siren sound when dying or falling off the pillars. They're also bunched up a lot in the last several pillars before the stairwell to the next floor. Maybe flying was a better option after all. A small, black, still-beating heart can be collected as loot.

Just like the first floor, this stairwell has an invisible wall as well. Same things apply here, except you have all the time in the world... too bad you're on the same black pillar with all the Noceos and one Alt-Vassago. Better tell your friends to hurry it up before you get brainwashed or killed.

→ 3rd Floor

Once you finally arrive at the third floor, there is only a blinding, narrow, white room. It feels more accurate to say it might be a slightly wide corridor. It may be difficult to see, because of the absence of color on the walls. However, there is blood everywhere on the floor. The source is a humongous, tipped over blood container off to the side. The room reeks of the smell. Shadow Terry is at the opposite end of the room with his gold eyes and behind him is a low cage where the real Terry is trapped in with his powers sealed. There is no trace of the cinnamon smell whatsoever in this room. There seems to be another door behind where the Shadow is, marred with plain visible scratch marks with little blood here and there.

There's also a familiar melody (0.25x speed) for those who have heard it before that seems to echo, almost as if fading away, but it never quite leaves.

Shadow Terry tends to look slightly different than the Terry everyone knows aside from his eye color. He has a sharper look, but right now, it's hard to see. He's kneeling next to the cage that Terry is trapped in and quietly cries. When Shadow Terry hears you coming in, he turns to you, looking a little desperate from where he is when he sees you for the first time.

"Please help. I want Terrence to accept me."

→ Notes

⬥ There will be a time limit on subduing the Shadow. Terry needs to drink blood to extend his lifespan, which he hasn't done in a while, so characters will only have until the end of the 23rd (IC and OOC, 11:59PM EST) before Terry falls into a pseudo-death coma state. If characters manage to subdue his Shadow before that happens, they'll have a chance to persuade him into accepting the Shadow. There will also be a chance that Terry won't accept it, depending on how the persuasion goes. A new top-level will go up on the 24th if the Shadow hasn't been accepted by then. A note on any late Shadow interactions are here!
⬥ Since Shadow Terry and Dark Vassago are hard to deal with, characters are encouraged to fight, retreat, and try to fight them multiple times.
⬥ Since IC dates are very important, please include them at the start of each thread when posting under the Shadow thread.
⬥ Threads from this dungeon post can serve as Dungeon requirements for AC.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

i. 1st floor, 10/16-10/23
[ The fox Shadow gets torn apart and the illusion breaks once more— but this time, instead of lasting five minutes, candyland flickers back up within a second, with Kano standing in the midst of all of it with his hands shoved in his pockets and staring disdainfully up at a nyancat, though he brightens once more when he sees somebody else on the floor. ]

Hi, hi~ This is way cool, huh? I wonder how the trigger is set up?

[ He always has to be there in person in order to cast his illusion, but this is on a much wider scale and much more mechanically built than what he's used to, thinking it must be some remote demon who set it all up. Forget tengus and heralds. This is something he's more interested in, just hanging around on this floor and keeping the candyland illusion up perpetually. Of course, that doesn't stop the cats from turning into bats when the fox is caught, nor does it hide the stairwell to the next floor, but wouldn't you much rather hang out in candyland and beat up cute little cats? Yeah. Kano's not here to help, but to hinder, and to stick around collecting pouches of glitter because holy hell free glitter.

You'll want to keep him away from the stairwell because he's not answering his question for a while, so get him out of the way if you want to pass. ]

ii. 2nd floor, 10/18-10/23
[ Wow, this dungeon is super annoying with its forced sense of urgency, especially to Kano who likes taking his time playing around and making things difficult for everybody. And there's this second stupid annoying door that Kano jumps on his Persona's dragon form to fly the hell away from the moment he realizes it's the same as the last one, before anybody can hear his question. Sorry! These doors really suck, and he hates people getting into his head. In retaliation, Kano casts his illusion and clears out the red sky, turning it clear blue with no clouds, the sort of sky you'd expect from a warm summer's day except the sun in the sky gives off no warmth.

Instead of dealing with that door, Kano instead plays taxi service again, for the fare of one Shadow item drop per ride. Ala can take on the form of Vassago to shuttle people right to the end, or if she sees somebody falling off a pillar, she turns into a giant snake and winds her way around to catch anybody who'd fallen before they can disappear into the void. Kano asks for his fare or else he says Ala will drop them back off the pillar, but she sort of just gives him a look and lets her passengers down safely. ]

wc.
[ Please include IC dates with each prompt! Kano will answer his first door's question on the 18th, and the second on the 20th, so if you're interested in threading out door questions, please set the date to the 18th/20th. I'm at

birdseed for any questions, etc! ]

[ Mondo arrives at the first pillar when the sky turns blue all of the sudden. He observes it in confusion, but then finds someone with a Persona so similar to Terry. He becomes vigilant, as the person sitting on Vassago-lookalike is not someone he recognises. ]

...Who're ya?

[ People come and go in Hirajiro, but there's only a handful number of Persona user. This is also the first time he observes someone with a Persona so similar to someone else's. He's never heard of this happening before. He thought everyone has a different one. ]

...Hm? Me?

[ Kano gives the silence a couple of seconds before pointing a finger towards himself, side saddle on his dragon's back. Ala looks at Mondo too, with a curious tilt of her head because... okay, it's because of the hair. She thinks it's funny and settles down on the ground to approach Mondo, despite the nagging thought Kano's sending to her that this'll just be a pain. ]

Just a passing vigilante! Or something like that~ So, who're you?

[ Since it's only fair that Mondo tell him his name too. Despite Kano not giving his. ]

[ Is this a game that he wants to play? Fine. ]

Just a person who wanns get to the other end of this stupid pillar shit.

[ He crosses his arms, glancing at both of them. ]

So ya wanna tell me your name or what?

[ Is it just him or he feels a stare on his hair... ]

Haha, "or what," I guess~

[ Nah, Mondo gets no name. Ala gives a soft, low rumble deep in her throat because she would happily introduce herself and Kano if she had the human vocal cords to do so at the moment. She could turn human right now and drop Kano into the abyss? It's always an option. ]

But you need to get to the end of this stupid pillar shit, right? You're in luck~ It just so happens we're offering a limited offer express ride straight to the end~!! If you have the fare for it, anyways~

[ What a shifty guy... Mondo isn't sure he really likes the way he seems to laugh off things just to let shit slide. Despite how he is, Mondo's pretty straight-laced when it comes to things like this, after all. ]

...Huh. [ He narrows his eyes. ] What's the guarantee ya won't drop me halfway through?

Hm? Ahh, hmmmmm... I dunno!! There is none!

[ Yeah! Really no way to guarantee something like that, is there? ]

Guess you'll just have to take my word for it, huh? What a tough spot you're in! But how 'bout this: I won't take the fare until we're at the other side, then it'll just be a loss to me if I drop you, right? Nothing good will come out of that, so I won't do it! Maybe!

[ Hm. ]

Fair enough.

[ Honestly he doesn't really care about the dying part-- okay maybe he cares a little now because Terry, but really, if he were to remove everything he wouldn't care. He's just got no time to lose here. ]

Whaddya want as a fare, then?

[ Ala settles down on the ground so Mondo can climb up onto her back, stretching her limbs out in the process like a cat, since she has the chance to do so here.

Kano sits side saddle right in the middle of her back, so Mondo has the choice of sitting awkwardly in front of him, or awkwardly behind him. ]

Hm~ It depends! What d'you have on you? Turn out your pockets and lemme see~

[ It's the guy's ride, it won't feel right if he sits in front, so he'll sit behind... awkward as fuck. Why can't this dude sit normally.

Having to show off the stuff in his pockets, though... ]

...This feels like an extortion for some reason.

[ There are a bunch of tools for wood carving, a hammer, an acorn, this cat keychain, black fox masks, wooden miniature animal carving (x4), and canned sardine. Look, the tokkoufuku's pocket is deep, okay. This isn't much on his standard. ]

I can't give ya my tools but the rest... guess it's fine. Ya can't have everythin', tho'.

[ There's a reason for the sitting but it doesn't matter. Kano looks pretty gleeful when Mondo turns out his pockets— he doesn't expect anybody to give in so easily, after all, maybe showing him one or two things they don't mind parting with, but not everything. It kind of is extortion, after all. ]

Hm, hm~

[ These are all interesting things? The tools especially, but mostly because he thinks Ellie would appreciate every new blade she can get her hands on, and that he can guess that Mondo carved those animals himself. But what to choose... ]

Then, I'll go ahead and take the acorn~

...Hah?

[ He lets out the dumbest sound ever. But really, what. ]

You're ok with a fuckin' acorn? [ He raises an eyebrow. ] What're ya gonna do with it?!

None of your business~

[ He makes a grab for the acorn, because it should be his choice what he wants and he shouldn't have to explain anything. ]

Why, is it some special acorn you're so reluctant to part with? What's so special about it, huh? Come on, you can tell me~ If it's super super special to you, I'll choose something else! I'm not that mean as to take away your super special acorn~

[ Hey, Kano. How was it dying and all on the 20th where she had to fish your corpse out of the water? Anyway, 45 decided to suck it up, stop cursing her uselessness, and help Persona users get to the other side because that's all she can do because she still can't get through the blasted wall due to her lying status.

When Kano makes the threat, 45 throws a black, beating heart at his face. Here's your stupid fare. ]

[ Ala: Vassago says don't come back
Kano: I wasn't going to but now I'm going to

Anyways, dying sucked!! It sucked a lot, but as long as he stays out of that room, he doesn't think he will die. It's just that this place is really cool, the walls are really cool, everything is so interesting and great except 45 throwing organs at his face.

He wouldn't normally be here, if it weren't for the fact that he doesn't usually sleep until 3AM and there's nothing else to do at night. ]

AHHHH!!! [ GROSS, UGH. Kano puts it in his pocket anyways. He doesn't have a large enough jar, so he'll just have to wrap it up in some napkins and hope it's okay. ] I don't want it! Besides, you guys can fly just fine!!

[ kano: I DON'T WANT IT
also kano: takes it anyway

45 gives a gentle pat to Ala. Thanks, girl. Even if I bully your host from time to time. Well, there's someone who wants to go to the third floor, but can't. And here's a guy who can go, but wouldn't. 45 won't judge him for not going though. Pulling his corpse out once is pretty telling. Most people wouldn't go back... ]

Want me to get another one?

[ She can, but... mostly teasing. ]

Edited 2019-10-19 10:52 (UTC)

[ It's something about life and lemons, even if you happen to be deathly allergic to lemons.

Ala croons softly at the pat, soaking up all the physical affection Kano doesn't give her before turning back into smoke around Kano's boots, wisps of black that sway with a nonexistent breeze.

What is Kano supposed to do with multiple hearts, let alone the first one? ]

Sure, if you wanna! For the price of two hearts, Ala can bring you over there and then back right where you started~

[ She already had one in her bag, so she gets it out and chucks that one also at Kano's face. This time, it's twice the hearts being slammed at his nose. Have fun smelling that. ]

[ UGH

Kano stands there and lets himself get hit in the face with the second heart, because if he dodges, he'll have to go that much further to retrieve it. But man, this sucks. Holding a beating heart in his hand while he digs into his pocket for more napkins makes him think back to staring at his own heart being yanked out of his chest, and how he still can't quite feel a heart beat whether in his chest or on his neck or his wrist.

Surreal, really. Dying here isn't at all like the other two times he had died at school last year. But it looks like, even here, he's another child that Death doesn't want and keeps sending back.

The wrapped heart gets put into his freezer pocket this time. ]

Alright~! Payment received loud and clear! All aboard Ala Express!!

[ With both of Kano's arms up in the air, Ala appears again in her dragon form, wings unfurled in an imitation of Kano's pose because she likes being dramatic too, before settling down on the pillar and flattening herself into a pancake so 45 can more easily get on her back. Kano hops on to sit side saddle right in the center. ]

[ Being Kano and everyone around Kano is suffering... She pats Ala again before getting on her back. What a good girl. The dramatics are nice to watch at least. Though, she's here to help other users to get to the third floor, but... ]

Did you want to go to the third floor?

[ Which side suffers worse, though... Ala makes happy dragon noises at the pat, while Kano laces his fingers before inverting his hands and stretching his arms way up about his head. ]

Mmmmmmmmmmm, nope! Nuh-uh, no way!

[ He would try again, like he tried last time, except Ala's already told him she'll drop him into the void herself if he opens that door again. ]

I'm no good for him, after all. Why? Want someone to go with you in there? I heard it's pretty scary~

Edited 2019-10-19 20:17 (UTC)

[ It's the biggest mystery...

It's so scary that you'd die, huh. 45 keeps that to herself and readies her gun. She's not going to shoot Kano (yet), but she'll kill the Noceos that are in the way for others. Though... they're still hideously loud when dying or falling off the pillars and their debuff can't reach as long as Ala stay away from the area that reaches their adjacent pillar. ]

Did you have a grand plan that failed?

[ Kano laughs, while Ala doing lazy figure eights in the air without really heading towards or away from that door, though she stays closer to it as time goes on because ...well. It's the last day. And then it'll all be over. ]

Nah, nothing like that~

[ It hasn't failed, not yet. There's never just one plan, but several small ones layered on top of one another, like how even silk can stop swords and bullets if there are enough of them. But he has no real investment in Terry, other than the guy getting out and becoming some crazed mass murderer and then Kano would have to take this seriously.

The Boss is such a pain!! All this is such a pain. Ala won't let him go home. ]

You're giving me too much credit, Itsuki~ Do I really look like a guy who's come up with something like that? Sorry to disappoint!

You're right. You're definitely the guy who wouldn't do that. Not at all.

[ lmao

Two bystanders, just watching someone's world die out there, somewhere out there. 45 isn't aware that this is the last day though, so she thinks there's still some time left. The Noceos keep respawning pretty quickly, so 45 stops. She's not the one with infinite ammo after all. ]

[ It's no different than what he did back home, running away from school and abandoning everybody to an apocalypse he doesn't want to be a part of. All the safeguards are set up, traps set up and plans already put into action, so Kano doesn't have to be there and he can pretend he's not a part of it at all.

Ala yawns, catching onto Kano boredom, and makes another sweep across the floor, over towards the door, away from it, back. ]

...Alright, end of the line~ Two hearts buys you a round trip ticket, so you'd better be back here to collect on the return trip. Making us wait forever would be rea~lly rude, after all!

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ 10/16 Lockdown

→ 1st Floor

→ 2nd Floor

→ 3rd Floor

→ Notes

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ii, 10/23

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