[open] 11/9 hirajiro mystery gang

[reveilation]

[ Over the past week and a half, either Kido or Akira have been going around asking Persona users to attend a meeting at noon on the 9th, with the meeting place being the first floor of the castle in the forest. People who Kido thinks will require dragging to the castle, she makes sure to find and drag over, since she wants everybody to be there in order to share their thoughts and get everybody on the same page. It's rare that everybody comes together like this, so she wants to make the most of it.

There isn't much in the way of furniture and the fridge in the Velvet Room is broken, so Kido can't rely on the kitchen to cook unending gyudon like she did last time. She'd stuck her head into the train this morning and saw something she really didn't need to see, so everybody else is also banned from entering the Velvet Room until the meeting is concluded. Instead, blankets are laid out on the ground and there's a stack of bento boxes which will be easy to eat while sitting outside. There's around three times as many bentos as the number of people, since she knows there's people who'd want seconds (or thirds or fourths or fourteenths... there's a limited amount this time, so no eating contests!!) and if there are any left over, people can take them home. ]

Is everybody settled? Food is on the throne over there, and there's barley tea and cups on the ground next to it, so eat up. Feel free to go back and get more if you're still hungry, but wait until everybody has the chance to get one first. When you're finished, put the box and chopsticks into the bag in the corner so I can wash them later. The cats have their own food, so do not feed the cats anything from the bento. If I catch you, you're not eating for the rest of the meeting.

[ She can't be sure if there's anything in the boxes that might be bad for cats, so it's a blanket ban, sorry cats... There are quite a few in the area, though, including Kano and Shiro. Kano especially does not get food. ]

Now, the first thing we need to talk about...

[ There are a few topics she wants to make sure they discuss, and then the floor is open for anything else people want to bring up, whether it's plot clues, mysteries people are looking into, general questions to bring up to the group, etc. Feel free to post a new toplevel for each new topic to discuss. Since it's a large open mingle, there may be threadjacking.

Also as a reminder, this month the reward for request 12 (two threads with fourth wall characters) is a plot clue in the form of a direct answer to any question your character may have. If there's something that comes up in the discussion that the characters are unsure of and think the Attendants might know (it's possible they might not), it's an option for getting those questions answered. ]

Comments

Zombie Status

[reveilation]

I want to start off with good news.

[ She glances over at Red, if he's here, or Akira, if he's not. ]

I know a lot of those other Persona users have been blaming us on how so many of us have succumbed to "ego death" [ she air quotes the term, because it feels like an official term the other users have adopted, when in her mind it's still "zombies" ] but people can come back from it. I don't know much about how it happens, either going into it or coming out, but if anybody knows anything about this, please share what you know. I want to bring our friends back, no matter what.

[ The revived zombie in question Kido is referring to is Red, but there's an AU Kokichi running around somewhere too... Anyways, Kido said she wouldn't press Red to talk, so she looks for what others know first, what they've heard, or what their guesses are. ]

[laconism]

[Red is indeed here, sitting on a blanket next to Akira and eating from an open bento box in front of him. He didn't oversleep this time! Pikachu and Espeon are chilling on their blanket as well. He's a little embarrassed when Kido looks his way, but watches her thoughtfully as she speaks. She said that he didn't have to, but...]

Um...

[He nervously speaks up anyway. Since Red is the only one who has come back from ego death so far, it's important that he shares his experience with it.]

Before I was, um... ego dead... I didn't feel any differently than usual. I just went to bed one night, and... I guess it happened in my sleep. I never realized that anything was wrong until I woke up at the inn, and... saw how surprised everyone was to see me awake.

["Everyone" being the Pokémon and Akira.]

I also heard from one of the other Persona users that... for them, people go into ego death after losing battles with Shadows.

[overstrain]

I tried looking into their memories right before they got turned into a zombie. They weren't doing anything in particular, but the the trend is that the midnight shift is going on when it happens all of a sudden. I don't see anything surrounding them either. They're all the same: doing something mundane like taking a stroll on the streets, about to go into a dungeon, but all of a sudden, it just happens. If Shadows are really attacking people as the Migrants say, then they're probably being attacked from behind.

[ Though he heard what Red said about Pikachu and Espeon not noticing anything, so he's not sure what to make of this. It's not like they completely erased their presence while doing it, because it sounds like the people from the other Hirajiro have been killing the Shadows. ]

There was this other girl named "Shore", who also stopped being a zombie for a brief moment, but I couldn't find her for some reason, and before I knew it, she reclaimed the zombie status. I check everyone's statuses on most days when I can, and this is what I came up with.

AU Hirajiro

[reveilation]

The next topic is the largest: the number of new Persona users that have appeared here, but claim they're from a Hirajiro that's different than ours.

[ Kido's a bit more guarded when she's talking about this, because she's only personally spoken to one or two of them, and of course one of them is Terrence the Original. ]

I don't know what to think about this, honestly... They're stuck here with us, aren't they? I didn't invite them to the meeting since I wanted it to be just us first, but we'd have to work together eventually, right?

[ She doesn't want to work together with anybody Terrence is involved with lmao but the fact that the other users can't leave is concerning. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

[Sasuke looks uncomfortable when this topic comes up. He also keeps looking to a small black cat with white dots over its eyes that's been sticking to the edges of the area.]

...My twin brother Yuusuke's here. Red told me he saw him.

[And it's very clear from his tone that he's not at all happy about this development. ]

He lies a lot, and he'll do anything to complete his mission. He might work with people if it suits him, but... it might be better to avoid him if you can.

[cicadashell]

Aren't we already working together? Some kid's collecting the arcana cards for Terry.

[Jiro has two bento boxes, and he's eating from both at the same time, picking what he likes out of them.]

Daitengu

[reveilation]

Aside from the Shadows on the streets, the other thing they seem to be getting on our case about is the Daitengu, and also this castle and the shrine. I don't think any of their shrines have a name to their deity either, but I can't be sure of that. But it's not like we're choosing sides, doing what we're doing, right?

[ Killing the Daitengu definitely does not make them friends. But the shrine god, it's just the fact that people fill its offertory box, but Kido doubts there's a real god enshrined there. ]

...I think we're doing the right thing. If we keep defeating the Daitengu, we'll be keeping the town safe, and we'll be able to go home, too.

[cicadashell]

You still don't have any proof that door's gonna take you home.

[While Jiro wasn't involved with the first two Daitengu, he's talked to Kido about the ofuda and the door, and she didn't know exactly where it would lead. He still thinks it's sounding more like a ritual. The people from the other Hirajiro may have a point.]

Shrine Dungeon

[reveilation]

Well, we'll have time to decide what to do about it, since we haven't found our way to the end of the new Dungeon. It's... a lot.

[ It's so much. Kido really hates this new dungeon. ]

But we have to go through it to find our way to the Daitengu. If you guys have any advice on any part of the dungeon, it would be great if you could share.

[ She's... just going to leave it at that. Fear floors terrify her and it would be great if those who've gotten through them could suggest the fastest way through them, but it's the memory ones that really shake her. They've all been terrible memories. ]

[cicadashell]

I've got some advice.

[His voice is low and deceptively calm, until he snaps one his chopsticks in half and stands up to yell at everybody.]

PUT THE FUCKING OMAMORI IN THE COLLAR SLOT!

[Has anyone else even been in that hell floor?]

Memories

[reveilation]

You guys have seen— experienced might be a better word, I suppose... But after making it through one of those doors, there's the feeling that you're someplace else, and... seeing things through somebody else's eyes.

[ The last few words are rushed, as Kido tries not to think of one specific memory she was forced to watch through somebody else's eyes. ]

What are your thoughts about that? It's clearly an important part of the dungeon, if it keeps happening, but what do you think that's all about? If you can recall anything from what you've seen that you think might be important, it might be a good idea if somebody could get these written down, in case there's some connection we can draw.

[ People can bring up specific memories they've received even if they're OOCly received later. Just make a new reply to this toplevel for each one so we can have separate threads for each memory! ]

[yokeye]

[Toki waves his hand frantically.]

Everything was so bright and I felt like so free and light and unburdened! I heard birds singing and wind howling through the trees and then I even though everything was like so white, I could see the birds and the bending trees and the air was crisp and I had so much energy and everything was so realistic! And then I was suddenly in a field and looking up at the night sky!

[He looks very confused after describing that. None of that happened. He'd seen fire and water and felt like he was very tired and maybe dying.]

Yes! That's exactly how it all happened, down to every last detail!

[overstrain]

[ Despite going to the shrine dungeon so many times and suffering from so much shit, he... didn't realize it before, but now that he thinks about it, he doesn't have good ones to give. There was one with the Attendants being lovey-dovey, another where they made out, another where they had frottage, another where someone was probably close to dying, and a bloodbath in a Velvet Room that he can already guess what it is.

...

He looks so frustrated. ]

I can write them down and I don't have much to share [ despite going there so many times?? ] but... I remember seeing something about "me" dying, but another person said that they wouldn't let "me" die. It was weird. I guess whoever's memory I was experiencing at the time was someone who was at death's door...?

Halloween Mansion

[reveilation]

While we're on the topic of the shrine, that building where the dungeon is suddenly appeared at the same time the shrine got lit up and the castle rebuilt itself again. But it stood in the same place as that large black mansion from a week ago. I don't know if they're connected, but...

[ It's the same building, and Kido, while she was inside the mansion, was convinced that that was the new dungeon. But it turned out to be something else completely. Whatever that place was, and what it meant, she's hoping somebody else might have a clue. ]

The noisy rooms aside, there was some concerning stuff in the back too. The gravestones, and especially that back room... It looked pretty bad in there, didn't it? All those things on the floor, and the omamori... Akira and I were talking about how that room might have some connection to the shrine, or the town itself, but... I don't know.

[ What the hell even happened in that place? The building is gone, now, so they can't go back and check anything, so if there's any important detail about that place, she hopes at least somebody remembers. ]

[overstrain]

I took some pictures of the back room if anyone needs a refresher.

[ On his phone. Not physical copies. He's not just addressing that to Kido, but everyone else that's listening. ]

If you want a copy, give me your number and I can send it to your phone. Anyway, I asked about the back room to the Attendants because they're involved, but it sounded pretty complicated, along with them not being able to get the full memory of what happened there. And well... that's also taking into account whether you trust the Attendants or not, but if you don't believe anything they say, you won't get anywhere, right? If you think that way, you can try to pick out the lies of what I'm going to relay to you. And if you trust them, just listen up.

Anyway, first off... there were those items on the floor. They all belonged to someone who had a charm. Their charms were all in the sack. Even though there were more charms than the items, we can assume they also died in that room at some point.

The glasses belongs to Souji. The headphones are Minato's. The other four items belong to people named Maya, Maki, Tatsuya, and Naoya. Those sound like common names, but has anyone heard those names since you guys came to Hirajiro?

Attendants

[reveilation]

Other than that... I know I was the one who also brought it up the last time, but...

[ She throws a glance over at the Velvet Room door behind the throne, and then nervously looks away. When inviting everybody, they'd asked people not to mention anything to the Attendants, despite the fact that they'll be literally camping out in their front yard having a picnic. ]

...Do you guys trust them...? The Velvet Room Attendants aren't always nice, even if ours seem to be. They've been telling us things like door here in the castle leading us home, but we're just taking their word for it without any solid evidence, aren't we? I want to trust in them, but at the same time, it's hard when they don't always give straight answers. Even their claims of having missing memories is something we just accepted at face value. And their omamoris...

[ Were found in the mansion, covered in blood and thrown in a sack with a bunch of others. Akira's holding onto them for now, with the plans of seeing if they'll elicit any reaction out of the Attendants, but not now. Kido wants to get through the entire meeting first, before they go shoving bloody charms at people's faces. ]

[flowerclips]

[ just like last time, rei is still on team "i ♥ attendants", but she's extremely biased so... ]

I trust Leader and Vice Leader, but umm, maybe there's a reason why they can't give us straight answers?

[ rei luckily didn't go into the mansion so she didn't see the omamoris. probably for the best... ]

[infiltrationtools]

I'll be the first person to say that I'm biased against them. But I'm still not a fan.

[This isn't news to Kido, but it is to some others.]

There's definitely a lot of info here that they have and we don't. Maybe they're keeping quiet on purpose, maybe something is making them keep quiet.

[Actually, that's another good point.]

In the Velvet Room I used to go to, there was a hierarchy, with the Attendants beneath another entity who had... a lot of power over them. We don't see anyone like that here, but that doesn't mean one can't exist.

Castle

[reveilation]

And, this was just something I've been thinking about, but how we all arrived here in this castle, but none of us have actually seen it happen. We know it's here. It'll probably happen in the future, but that's uncertain. But if it does, and somebody else arrives, wouldn't it be worth it to see exactly how it happens? If we could having somebody here in the castle watching the place, I think it'd be possible to catch it.

[ The problem is the logistics of it all, and how to organize something like this. There's a chance nobody else will ever come. There's a chance they'll just walk out of the shrine dungeon from now on. She doesn't know, and maybe having people stand guard all the way out here is simply a waste of time. ]

Either way, this castle has to be important for something, if it gets rebuilt like the shrine. But that's all I have to bring up today, so if anybody else has something they want to talk about, go for it.

Re: Castle

[overstrain]

[ Terry wants to say that the castle IS being lived-in by someone, but that someone is Kano, and Terry doesn't dare bring him up while Kido is here. He also thinks Kano will just listen in from the second floor or whatever. He goes to where the mural is while holding something like a rolled up tapestry in his hands.

The mural on the castle wall shows a small village surrounded by farmland, a familiar lake at the center, and flocks of crows adorning the skies with one large crow standing on the peak of the mountain overlooking the town. ]

Has everyone seen this? Because I'm gonna talk about it, so get yourself familiar with it and all that.

[ He opens up the tapestry in his hands and hangs it on the wall next to the mural. The image on the tapestry is similar of the murals on the castle wall, with a small village surrounded by farmland and a lake at the center. The sky is clear, and there are four mountain peaks overlooking the town, each with a winged figure standing on top of them.

Feel free to discuss it amongst yourselves or ask Terry about it, because he can draw up several conclusions and I don't want make this tag any longer than I want to. ]

[toybombs]

[She just sits and listens to Terry and Kido talk, occasionally eating bits of her bento.]

Nobody told me about any of this when I first got here..

[She looks so sad and left out.]

animal security??

[overstrain]

[ The longer you've been around here, you might have had a chance to see a white snake varying in size every time you've seen it with blues eyes that pass by every now and then. Terry's here to address that so that no one tries burning him or anything. ]

If you guys have seen a white snake with blue eyes going around, he won't hurt you. But he's gonna eat all the animals that he's not familiar with as a side of precaution, so walk up with your animal or whatever and tell him not to eat them. There's been cases where there are beings similar to shapeshifters that can spy on people, so I'm just taking extra precautions.

[ Who even likes being watched or spied on?? ]

If you're too lazy to let Orien, the snake, know, I'm just gonna say he can't spit things back out once he's eaten things, so go and let him know. If you talk to him like he's stupid, he'll sass you.

[ Yeah. Go carry your animals to the white snake. He's slithering somewhere around the place. ]

[reveilation]

What? No, he can't just go around eating all the animals?! Orien??

[ STOP

Kido's going to run up to him before he eats any cats. ]

The cats are off limits! Don't eat any of them!

some kind of attendant(???)

[defragment]

[ Halfway through the meeting, 45 comes out of the portal, dressed in the usual blue Attendant clothes, complete with the hat. Since the portal is next to the throne, she'll stand near it and start eating at a normal pace, while trying to catch everyone's conversations. It looks so lively, but she's pretty sure she doesn't have a place here. She's just here for the free food and confusing the hell out of people if they ask her something. ]

[reveilation]

[ Kido gave explicit instructions not to tell any of the Attendants. She's going to throttle whoever let 45 know, even though she's more concerned about Minato and Souji coming out here, as they've been around much longer and were the first suspicious demons summoned in this castle. ]

Hey, Itsuki. You've been listening in on what's going on, right? Are we on the right track?

Torii

[not_that_sasuke]

[Sasuke hasn't eaten anything yet. He's sitting with Kurou nearby, who is keeping an eye on Shirou who is kind of awkwardly nearish but far enough away that the two cats don't start a fight.]

I think... some of you have probably seen the old torii in the forest by now. The spirit that lives there has returned to it, so...

I don't know if she'll let anyone else in, but if she does... she's nice. She's just... really old. She has a hard time with human language, but I think she just wants to help.

[Please be kind to her!!]

[flowerclips]

[ rei has, unsurprisingly, already eaten her bento, but is trying to be nice and not eat any extra boxes until everyone has eaten their share. it wouldn't be fair if she eats twenty of them and people only ate one... she'll help herself to the leftovers after everyone seems full. ]

What's the spirit's name?

yeeeeehaw

[flowerclips]

[ this is an all-intensive wildcard for rei in the gang log so i can get as many happy threads as possible before rei is gone for the rest of the month and half of december. she's just happily eating her bento, but she'll contribute to the meeting in the most important way. ]

Here! I have dessert for everyone!

[ and she pulls out tons and tons of hard candies in every flavours, like the usual fruity ones but also in weird flavours like mac n cheese, pickle, fried chicken, mashed potatoes... all that kind of stuff. anyway, reply to this prompt or anything else. wildcard, bitches. ]

[overstrain]

[ Terry could use a candy or two because he's tired from multiple discussions, so with a thanks, he takes a candy and eats it--

It's an Atomic Fireball.

Terry looks like he's dying. Maybe I can just let him die here instead... ]