Week 2

[linkupmods]

WEEK 2

WAKE UP, GET UP, GET OUT THERE.

Saturday rolls around and characters may see that there are notices from Mina, saying that everyone will be taking a trip at noon sharp on Saturday, and to have their weapons. Whether characters pay this heed or not, they will in fact hear a ding from their phones at noon, their screens glowing a sunset red with the word "TRANSFERRING..." the only thing to be seen. And then, just like that –

You all enter.

The new world before you can be described in one word: twisted. It doesn't feel great, but it doesn't feel extremely awful, either, depending on how you look at it – it's a distorted version of the already grim city that you've been brought to, and you are specifically in the shopping district. Everything seems to be darker shades of red, yellow, and purple, if you can see it through the haze ominously floating about.

That feeling of something stirring in your chest seems to grow stronger, more potent, burning with the desire to be let free…

…and you, all of you, are surrounded. Various monsters and demons are threatening to attack you, looking at you like you are their prey. That's because you are…but you don't have to be for long. The moment that you engage in battle with them, no matter who strikes first, is the moment your emancipation begins.

Welcome to your awakening.

You feel a surge of energy rush to your palm – for some, it burns like a fiery blaze. For others, it sparks with electricity; perhaps wind circles around it, or a mysterious frost begins to blanket it. Maybe you have a mysterious pink aura around it, or a bright turquoise light; a dark, sinister glow or a calming light. Whatever the case may be, it drives you to place your hand over your heart.

You latch onto something. It is not your chest, it's not your heart, but it's something deeper than that, something from your being. You pull, you drag it out, and there is no bloodshed or any sort of pain, only a very bright light and some struggle as you unearth what is within. You finally, finally feel free as a new part of you literally stands before you. Say hello to your new friend: Your Persona.

Your new skills feel intuitive, and you feel like you can navigate them well enough to at least try to survive. You don't need to question how or why you understand them just yet; all you need to do is let yourself experience your power, and you'll stand a chance.

And with that, it's time to fight.

(Note: Weapon attacks will always deal Phys damage, but Phys spells will naturally do more than just whacking enemies with your weapons. Go wild, dodge, parry – combat is more freeform here than it is in Persona, so play this out however you'd like.

Furthermore, you'll be able to see everyone's cool Personas! You just won't be able to really interact with them directly.)

???

(Picrew by ~danidoninha!)

After the battle, there's the sound of a whistle. Turn your heads towards the source, and…huh? A cat?

"Alright, newbies, it's time to roll out."

…And it talks???

She says it with a scowl on her face, and soon, she leaps up – poof, and suddenly, there is a cat train in front of you. Weirdly enough, this cat is the one driving it. How did she summon the train…who knows.

"Get in, unless you wanna get your asses kicked!"

And sure enough, she's right, because there seem to be more enemies flocking towards you. She will drag you all in whether you like it or not.

SAFE AREA.

And, after a quick ride on the cat train, you find yourselves back at the dorms! ...Kind of. Much like the rest of this alternate world, it’s distorted in shape, though there’s none of the haze you saw when you first arrived. It seems this area, at least, is safe - characters would be wise to note it as a location to base any Nekyia operations out of in the future.

Mina is also here! She looks, quite frankly, relieved to see everyone show up alive in the train. The train, by the way, is gone, because it seems like your mysterious cat friend is now back to her…first…form? And seems to be on her way out. Back to Mina, though:


“Thank goodness... Okay, um, app hiccups aside...

Welcome to the Nekyia - the world of the unconscious. As you can see, the unconscious version of the city is, um... Very, very messed up. The more commissions you complete, the more connections you forge, the more bonds you repair, and the more Shadows you take out will help return the Nekyia to normal - and with it, the real world!

The people of this world don’t have the power to summon Personas... You’re the only ones who can save this city from the influence now. So please...

Help me fix this city from the inside-out!”

Mina has also set up a folding table set up with divinity cookies and water bottles from “Ambrosial Water Co”, judging by the labels. Characters who partake in these proffered snacks will find them rejuvenating - literally. Using a Persona’s abilities takes spiritual energy, but these snacks replenish one’s energy to full again with a single bite or sip. Any characters who want to try venturing back into the thick of the Nekyia today are free to take some with them, but do take care! Mina is only providing snacks for today, and after this characters will need to monitor their energy levels on their own.

Characters with further questions may ask Mina and she will do her best to answer! You can also try to catch the mysterious cat from earlier, too.

To go back to the real world, all characters need to do is press the "RETURN?" button on their phones. Much like the "TRANSFERRING..." message, this is the only thing on their screen.

All phones will now have a Nekyia app that will enable them to come in and out of the Nekyia at will.

OOC

READ ME!!!!

• Welcome to your Week 2 event log!
• Here is your promised Persona debut. Fighting is very flexible, so please just thread the fights in whatever format you'd like.
  
• A reminder for those of you who have gotten their Level 10 skills: These do not unlock ICly until Week 3, starting on 8/17.
  
• As always, please let us know if you have any questions! Enjoy!
  

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THIRD TIME IS A CHARM CRIES

[fullmoonmutt]

Where do you think you're going, huh?!

[ Eli's a tiny bit late to the party but he arrives just in time to see the hooligans take off. Naturally, he gives immediate chase. He can't help it. Chasing trouble is very much akin to chasing squirrels to him. ]

I BELIEVE IN US

[imperiosity]

[arrives ten minutes late with starbucks--

Okay look, he doesn't really know what instigated this but he can see the graffiti and the abandoned spray paint cans so meh, might as well see what this is all about!! he yolos a person to chase ig so here he is]

Let's get their ass!

Re: I BELIEVE IN US

[linkupmods]

As they catch up to their target, they’ll find that they can’t quite make it - mostly because they slam into an invisible wall instead.

In fact, if they feel around, they’ll find they are now caught with Eli in some sort of invisible barrier - though they don’t have much time to investigate this new phenomenon, because the barrier quickly begins to fill with a murky haze, exactly like the sort they may have seen in the Nekyia prior. And with it, they can hear a voice echoing in their heads…

”Does she truly believe honesty is the solution to her problems…? Very well, then. Allow me to give the goddess a hand in her… efforts.”

The characters are now trapped - and not only that, but the haze carries with it a horrible feeling, a sense of something prying a horrible truth from them. Something others would find disturbing or disgusting above all.

If all characters share their dreadful truth, the barrier walls and the haze will dissipate on their own. While they may attempt to free themselves instead, the barrier walls seem to be impenetrable from the inside by any human (or brought down to human) means.

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Eli does, in fact, slam right into that invisible wall. BAM. It ends up bouncing him back, off-balance, and he is once again landing on his damn ass right in front of Aaron, come on, why is sitting on the ground the only time this guy ever encounters him?! Hello?! ]

Piece of goddamn shit...!

[ He's originally yelling after the man in the yellow sneakers but he trails off real quick when the haze begins to set in and he hears that voice. Immediately, he's tense. Shit. What is this... this feeling? Like something is clawing at his very heart? ]

...what the fuck...?

[imperiosity]

[It's okay because honestly, the timing is so close that Aaron can't react to seeing Eli bounce off the wall and still ends up slamming right into it with a curse. Floor buddies!!!

Anyways, he'll get up quickly enough, but the haze and voice interrupt him after he plants exactly one ineffectual kick into the wall. He's... well, he's not liking this feeling, but he'll at least try the Nekyia app first to see if it works, only to get a blue screen. Welp.

Thanks for nothing Windows Braphine!!!]

Tch! Looks like we can't get out that way.

[cleansewithfire]

[ Maybe it's fortunate for Sunrise (less so for Eli and Aaron's dignity) that she was slow enough trailing after them that she didn't run into an invisible wall and just saw the two of them slam into it.

It also means she wasn't fast enough to get out, so really, not that fortunate. ]

...Does something feel strange to any of you?

[ Because even if she's not the sort that feels a strong need to hide most things, she can still identify this weird sense of someone trying to drag something out, if you would. ]

[fullmoonmutt]

...yeah. I think it's the fog.

[ Only his pride has taken an injury here but since no one points it out (and Aaron hits the ground, too, so haha), he gets back to his feet without commenting on the whole wall thing. ]

We're in that Nakedya place again.

[ Eli... ]

[imperiosity]

[Eli??

Okay, honestly that would normally make him laugh but this has to be the one kind of situation where he just gives a Look, like he thinks Eli is a dumbass.]

Would explain why the app doesn't work, if we're stuck there already.

[...]

You guys heard that voice too, right?

[cleansewithfire]

[ The pause of someone who is clearly thinking, "But that's not what the name sounds like?", but there are bigger fish to fry right now. ]

I did. Maybe being honest is supposed to help us leave...?

[ Just, you know, honest in the most terrible way apparently. ]

[fullmoonmutt]

[ IF NO ONE CORRECTS HIM, THE NAME WILL CONTINUE TO BE WRONG. WOW. ]

But I'm always honest?

[ That makes no sense to Eli. What could he by lying about, huh? Huh?! ]

[imperiosity]

[you say that like it isn't the funniest outcome!!

There's a casual shrug from Aaron, like he doesn't think this is some kind of ridiculous bullshit, but his grin is decidedly less carefree than normal.]

Guess someone just wants to make it a round of show and tell. The question is: are we gonna play along, or not?

[He's more inclined to not, even if only for the principle of the thing.]

[cleansewithfire]

[ Corrections may happen when they are not currently trapped and by then it'll be a brick joke.

Sunrise says this with a completely straight face, with utmost seriousness: ]

Oh, I meant being honest in the same way it feels like someone trying to steal a body from a grave.

[ Sunrise, ]

While we could not play along, I think we will only end up being trapped here for a very long time.

[fullmoonmutt]

How is that honesty?! What?!

[ Sunrise?! Excuse you?! ]

Ugh, you know... she's probably right. This is a stupid game. Trap us in here until we spill our guts.

[imperiosity]

Girl's got a way with words, doesn't she?

[Okay okay, back to the topic at hand.]

Well, we could wait to see if any of the guys outside could bust us out. But hell, I'm not a fan of waiting to be rescued like some damsel in distress.

If we're all agreed on this, then I don't have anything to hide.

[Not that he's desperate to start, but he doesn't have an issue going first considering what he has to say isn't really that bad anyway.]

[cleansewithfire]

[ Sunrise seems to be thinking for a moment... ]

...I would rather not test what happens if we stay here too long, so I agree too.

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Eli looks between the two. Back and forth, Sunrise to Aaron, Aaron to Sunrise. He gets the distinct feeling they might keep waffling over who begins and, again agreeing with Sunrise, well, who wants to find out what happens if they linger overly long? ]

Shit, fine. I'll go.

The whole full moon thing I was trying to figure out... It's because I turn into a monster under one if it isn't suppressed and the thing that suppressed it lost its power when we ended up here. Worse, what I got can be spread if I turn and start biting folks, so it would have been bad news, you know?

[ There. It was a truth that was struggling to burst forth, anyway, and so he just lets it go, spoken and out there in the wild. ]

[imperiosity]

[There's a glance over at Eli when he speaks, but there's no judgment in his expression as he listens. That confession probably warrants at least a couple of follow up questions though, but that can wait until they're out of here.

And as much as he really doesn't like feeling like they're just dancing in the palm of whatever entity decided to trap them here, staying here forever isn't going to accomplish much. So Aaron will shift a little so he can lean with his back against the barrier, crossing his arms before he starts.]

Some friends of mine were killed, so I went after the guys I thought were responsible. Real scumbags, the lot of 'em -- but they were really just idiots who got in over their heads when the mafia decided to use them as pawns.

Thing is, I was too pissed to see it at the time. So I marched right into their hideout and kicked the shit outta them -- was planning on sending them straight to Gehenna, too. The only reason why I didn't was 'cause some old fart decided to stick his nose in and tell me off for being a dumbass.

Cw: references to mild body horror just to be safe

[cleansewithfire]

[ Oh, so is that why Eli hadnt quite been so direct about it on the "network", Sunrise wonders. And she seems to pause for a moment at what Aaron shares, though this is more because she's trying to work out why it'd be a horrible truth—in her opinion, wickedness must be punished. Then again, he also said those people were really just idiots, so...

Sunrise gestures to herself. ]

This body [ (not "my body") ] does not belong to me. It is another girl's. And while I am not certain how many were involved, at the bare minimum, the hands, parts of the skin and several organs were taken from other bodies as replacements. It was almost certainly without their consent and, if not illegal, unethical.

[fullmoonmutt]

So... the old man [ aka Aaron yeah he's never letting that one go ] here is shit at taking revenge, and you're... like... some Frankenstein chick?

[ Eli can manage to say Frankenstein but not Nekiya. Amazing. ]

Man. I think you have the most fucked up truth. [ Although Eli will turn after saying that and test the barrier again, pressing his hand against it. ] Only this thing is still here? What the hell?

[ He has to think about it for a second and then, with great uncertainty, wonders aloud, ]

Is it because I already told other people my thing? It was just the two, c'mon, that can't count!

[imperiosity]

[He shoots an annoyed glare at Eli, although it's definitely more for the revenge comment than anything else. Not that he can deny it, so he'll just breeze past it, especially given what they just learned about Sunrise. Damn.]

Doesn't sound like you had much of a say in it, though.

[At least, based on that small sliver of uncertainty that she left in that statement. But anyways, it's apparently not the time to mull over this stuff because the barrier's still here wow?? He'll give it a kick (again) but alas.]

Tch. Was that damn voice just playing with us? [He turns back to Eli and Sunrise.] So what, we keep telling stories?

[supherb]

[There's probably a good reason for the barrier still being around. Namely, someone new has stumbled into it.]

Hello...?!

[It's a familiar voice to some of the existing group. Sure enough, Arven comes wandering in from the thick of the fog.]

Ah! Here you guys are. I was sent over this way from the dorms to help...but I thought we were just dealing with crappy kids. What's all this?

[cleansewithfire]

[ Sunrise doesn't deny either of the things Eli and Aaron say, since...well, they're both right. She's as confused as they are that the barrier is still up too, until Arven makes himself known. ]

Ah. [ She doesn't like what this implies. What do you mean it's a one-way barrier kind of deal??? ] You are now also stuck with us. There is a barrier that apparently will not disappear until we all share a truth.

[fullmoonmutt]

What the...? Arven? How the crap did you end up in here but still get lost?!

[ Like this is somehow Arven's fault! Gosh! He gives the guy a dirty look for making them stay in here for longer than necessary, if that even is the cause. ]

Yeah, we're trapped until everyone tells everyone else something shitty about themselves, so hurry up and spill.

[imperiosity]

[Well, that explains a lot.]

What they said. If you've got other questions, they can wait. It'd be a huge pain in the ass if some other guys started wandering inside too, so let's just get this over with and debrief after.

[supherb]

[You ever just feel spiritually bodied by a situation you stumble into...]

Wha-- [He glares at Eli.] Hey, I'm not lost! I found you guys, didn't I?! I just didn't expect...y'know, this!

[Especially the share a truth thing. The hell? But...they don't seem to be lying. Just as they're talking about it, Arven can't help but feel that tug in the back of his mind too.]

So...wait, you guys went already? What were yours?

[No one is obligated to actually entertain his question, he's just stalling because he hates this. Bully him at will.]