don't say a word while we dance with the devil

[beguiledcard]

FEATURING: akira, akechi, kurama, sora + anyone wanting to go on a field trip to another reality where there are monsters that aren't Sound Eaters

for the Metaverse prompt, people are welcome and encouraged to make their own own toplevels!!!
WHAT'S HAPPENING? akira was given some awful drinks + he's learning to cook! PLUS METAVERSE THINGS...
DAY 076 - 090 ( 04/01 - 04/14 ) for now
CONTENT WARNINGS: nothing in prompts; subject lines will be marked appropriately, especially for metaverse things
NOTES: PLEASE READ THE BOTTOM if you're throwing your dude(s) at the Metaverse prompt.

otherwise, pp / ping me at skiesonfire ) if you have any questions / concerns!

april fool

[ He's never been big on pranking people - well, more like... he's never been given the chance...

Yet, the thought to give it a try comes to him after he tries drinking one of the bottles of... "fruit juice" he was given. Biiiig mistake, on his part. Fortunately ( "fortunately" ), he recognizes the taste. It's a familiar kind of bitter that he used to drink, back home.

There's a thought of seeing how a select few others might feel about it. Which is how some of said people find the bottle with a note that says who it's for ( and who it's from, because hE AIN'T SCARED ) attached to it. Others? Well, they'll find themselves being directly handed these drinks.

And he is wearing a perfectly casual expression as he does so. ]

cooking with ignis

[ While there is a part of him considering handing Ignis one of those drinks, it's for much more ( genuinely ) innocent reasons he's contacting the older man. After asking him over to his house, he's straightening the kitchen up and setting everything up.

He wants to learn how to cook more things, and he believes it's time to get those lessons from ( what he assumes is ) a professional. Currently, he has plenty of ingredients, thanks to Santa, so there are options.

As he waits for Ignis to arrive, he's working on some coffee - it's not the exact same thing as Leblanc, but it's at least a fairly close replication, based on his own descriptions. In the meantime, he's sipping some tea that he did a much better job at making, this time around. Maybe he'll eventually get the hang of making a cup that's remotely similar, in quality, to his coffee. ]

fight like you're gods and monsters

[ He's been curious ever since he saw the icon - it shouldn't be there. For one, this isn't even his version of Earth. For another......

... Well, anyway. It's after deciding to finally give this a go, he contacts the people he knows are either involved with Personas or have at least one of them: Akechi, Sora, and Kurama.

Dimly, he's amused that this technically makes up a full party...

In any case, it's after suggesting they go to the Reset Room to do this, they activate the MetaNav, and-- ]



(( NOTE: check below for specific Metaverse prompts / proper location description!!! EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO MAKE THEIR OWN TOPLEVELS

i'm honestly just going to be doing this as an actual dungeon option, so there will be monsters AKA Shadows ( including a boss-level Shadow towards the end ).

if anyone wants help with setting up a Shadow fight or help with the setting, in general, beyond the base that i will have typed up, please put "NPC PING" or "SETTING PING" in the subject line.

i'll gladly NPC the Shadow or toss some maze info at any thread, any time ( within reason; i will prioritize these pings for the first part of this month ). ))

Comments

[priwen]

[ ooc: i'm flexible with these prompts but they will be on 4/2 and maybe 4/3 as alex is heading to paris on 4/5! ]

enter night;

[ given his abilities at healing and combat, alex had volunteered to come along to assist and explore something that seemed interesting to him. perhaps, by entering such a space, he would acquire a greater understanding of this world and how it worked. it seemed like a good idea at that time...

... though, his appearance changes the moment they load into the metaverse. a dark aura springs up around him, wisps of black and murky red swirling around him like veins of solid smoke. alex almost doubles over, but catches himself in time.

slim fingers tear at his collar, and he unbuttons it with a clear fumble. a tug produces two crystals strung on a chain from under his shirt - one octahedral and glowing with a lambent blue, while the other is in the shape of a triangle and bears foreboding spikes. it gives off a strong red glow, enough to almost cover up the soft illumination of its companion.

the crystal burns. it's burned before, in the presence of others - but never like this. it is painful to touch, at least for him - these caustic emotions are usually kept in check by the holy light of the paladin crystal. but not here. ]

.... what?

[ a question for the stones in his hand. ]

later;

[ wildcard prompt! let's go beat up some shadows.

alex will be channeling his dark knight magic in the mementoes, as it is amplified by the general negative atmosphere around him. feel free to have your character ask about it, as his abilities will revolve around distinctively 'edgy' and red-black auras for weaponry as opposed to the holy magic that he usually uses. he can also shield.

hit me up on plurk or pm for custom starters! ]

enter night

[justbeingknife]

You all right?

[ Majima looked much the same as he always did... save for the violet flames pouring off of his body. It was fine. ]

More of that magic junk givin' ya trouble?

[priwen]

[ odd eyes flick over to the flames wreathing off majima's own body, then up to his face. alex's own expression is tense, and it's clear now more than any other time that he is trying to suppress a great deal of pain.

should majima come closer, he might even hear the whispers that accompany the dark aura strangling him. they are not good whispers.

fear, anguish, vengeance, bloody murder. the screams of this world mingle with the darkness in his crystal, cuts lurid pain into the back of his skull. yet: ]

What happened to you?

[justbeingknife]

This's normal.

[ In fact, what wasn't quite normal was that no one else seemed to do it around here. Maybe Tetora was right. Maybe he was the odd one out. ]

I'm guessin' those voices ain't normal for you, though.

[priwen]

[ they aren't. they've flared up sometimes, in the dead of the night where the silence presses down particularly thickly. but never in public - here, he feels exposed, as if the crystal had prised him inside out.

so he shakes his head, tries to close his fingers over the burning stone. it still stings, but perhaps he can calm it by force of will. ]

My magic is reacting strongly to this place.

[ half an explanation, but he hopes it'll suffice ]

[justbeingknife]

Alright. Long as ya can handle it, I'll count us as good to go.

[ He reached under his suit jacket, removed the tantō tucked against the small of his back, and unsheathed the blade. Its blade cast a cold, brilliant blue against the darkness of the maze. ]

Kinda itchin' for a fight, if ya know what I mean.

[priwen]

[ it's probably impossible to calm the aura of darkness in this sort of place. better to let himself ease into it, a magic that he has not tapped into for quite some time...

... as much as he deters violence, justified violence can be a way to let some stress out. so he nods, unsheathing his blade; the runes engraved onto it flare to life - a lurid crimson in stark contrast to its usual warm gold. ]

A service we will do if we eradicate the darkness.

[ all the better, to relieve his own. forward? ]

[justbeingknife]

[ Forward. Honestly, the maze was a little creepy -- it looked like an abandoned mineshaft or something, only covered with the red dust.

Majima's footsteps were soft on the dark earth. ]

You do this a lot?

[priwen]

[ he's silent for a few moments after reading majima's words, trying to knit together an answer. the light of his sword illuminates the way, a similar hue to the red dust coating everything ]

Fighting, or?

I have had to fight a lot, willingly or otherwise.

[justbeingknife]

Wanderin' into mazes, weapons drawn. Y'know.

[ Before he could elaborate, however, a gaggle of Shadows appeared from around the corner -- equine, with green manes. Kelpies? ]

Well, that's different.

[priwen]

[ he's about to knit together a reply when the kelpies appear - they're definitely not living spirits, but they manifest very strangely in his aetheric vision.

alex tucks away his device, though his hand never leaves his blade. he stops, waiting to see if the Shadows would leave them alone.

— apparently not, as one breaks off from the pack and starts galloping towards them. he thrusts his unoccupied hand in majima's direction, and a translucent bubble appears around the other man - a shield. ]

[justbeingknife]

[ Well, that was unexpected. But it was too late to ask what Alexandre was doing as Majima swept himself up on his hands and gave the kelpie a whipcrack of a kick with both feet to the square of its jaw.

It reeled backward from the shock and force before trying to lunge at Alex. ]

[priwen]

[ the dark aura around priwen intensifies into crackling black lightning. he blocks the kelpie's lunge with the flat of the blade, bolts of lightning surginng from the sword and into the beast's body. a flick of his wrist lets him tilt his weapon upwards, carving a wide slash into the shadow's body.

it splits open, revealing blackened sludge and a hiss radiating from the gash. alex almost recoils backward, but steels himself - it's not the texture that repulses him, but how it amplifies the darkness instead.

focus. don't lose your way.

he's back to himself a moment later, pushing the shadow backward with measured strikes.

more kelpies are coming. they're not out of the frying pan just yet ]

[justbeingknife]

[ Fighting Shadows was not like fighting human opponents; they way they moved was different, as were their vulnerabilities. The long, strong neck of a kelpie, for instance, was higher than on a human assailant, and one attempting to get in close was liable to be struck by a flailing hoof.

Instead, Majima switched to his bat, bludgeoning the closest creature twice across the nose before using it as a counterbalance, launching himself through the air to catch two at once with an overhead swing. Both dissolved into more of that strange darkness.

Not a bad feeling. ]

[priwen]

[ majima takes point, and at this stage he's not sure if he is able to wrench the kelpies' attention back from him. it's different from when he fought with companions back home, when he would always be the one in front, using his sword and light to draw the enemy's attention.

but this isn't a godlike being they're fighting. these aren't people they're fighting. they're just... shadows. it should be okay.

he thrusts his blade in the direction of the second wave, black lightning arcing from the blade once more before he pounces. three thrusts, up, down, sideways, and he feels his sword slice through them like butter.

maybe, it's because they're one and the same. unconsciously, he funnels more mana into the crimson flame, willing it to act as some sort of deterrent. ]

[justbeingknife]

[ Sorry, Alex -- Majima only knew how to fight right up front, unless of course there were firearms involved. But those weren't allowed in Reims, so...

He swung hard, a vicious arc that sent another kelpie reeling backwards and dissolving back into nothingness.

Not quite the same thing as beating on street punks, but at least it got some of the aggression out. Sadly, this current batch was starting to thin.

He darted aside, his movement a flash as one of the Shadows tossed a Garu spell at him. ]

The hell? That's not fuckin' fair.

[ """fair""" ]

[priwen]

[ it's magic.

which, given the conversations they've had before, is not something that majima is used to. he's not sure if he has time to type and fight - so instead, he will strengthen the shield around the other man, hoping that his intent will get through to him. the barrier can hold up against a few strikes, that he's sure of.

then it's back into the fray. he leaps with an agility that is surprising given his height, bringing the brunt of his sword down on a kelpie. the plunge cleanly bisects the shadow in half, spraying more of that darkness onto him. ]

...!

[ a soft, wordless sound, amplified by the strange quality of the metaverse. the shadow's innards catch on the crimson flame, and now it seems like the elezen is wreathed by burning fire ]

[justbeingknife]

[ Was that... a bad thing or a good thing? Majima's next strike sent the last kelpie flying even as it dissolved into that black nothingness. ]

Hey, ya alright there?

Your fire's on fire.

[priwen]

[ both. probably both.

the voices that accompany the flame never fade, but — somehow, by having someone else with him, it's easier to focus.

he holds out a hand, clenching it into a fist, willing the flames to simmer down. ]

It seems like this place makes my magic stronger.

I should be okay. I can control it.

[ maybe, if he believes and tries hard enough, it'll become true. ]

[justbeingknife]

[ Majima didn't know jack shit about magic, but he could spot a man struggling with himself. His own way of fighting looked wildly uncontrolled, but Majima had refined it over years of learning how to harm without killing. ]

Alright. Let's take it easy, then. Lemme know if you gotta bail.

Ain't like we're gonna reach the end of this place in one try, anyway.

Enter Night

[stealyoursoul]

[Well, at least Leo's found someone in this place now. As for him, his appearance looks like a cross between his human form and true form. His lower arms and hands are made of smoke and shadow, tinged at the edges with fire, while claws tip his fingers. He's also got a pair of bat-like wings and a long tail made out of the same substances. The tail lashes back and forth behind him as a sign of his agitation as he pulls out his device, typing a lot more delicately than he usually does.]

This has all been very entertaining, but is there any way to leave this party?

[priwen]

[ there's a marked tension in alex's frame, but he doesn't move to attack leo on first sight. instead, he waits and watches; relaxing a little once leo pulls out his device, but not by much. ]

There's an exit here somewhere, but the place changes. I don't know where it is anymore.

You're Leo, right?

[ he looks at the other man with a pinched expression. if leo comes closer, he might be able to hear whispers from the flames wreathing his form - voices of vengeance and pain. bad thoughts. ]

[stealyoursoul]

[Claws are meant for rendering and tearing into flesh, not for typing. The words come a lot slower than normal as he makes sure not to accidentally break his device.]

In the flesh.

[He pauses and looks down at his form.]

In a manner of speaking.

[As he gets closer, he blinks, and then tilts his head as he hears the strange things coming from his flames. That can't be normal.]

[priwen]

[ in the flesh, huh... he supposes it ties in with what leo told him previously. still, it is rather surprising to behold - he's worked with nonhuman beings before, so there isn't much fear that is evoked. ]

Do you naturally look like this?

[ he's trying his best to ignore the darkness pressing against his mind, and it's better if he talks to someone. ]

[stealyoursoul]

Sometimes. Usually, it's all of the human form, or my true form, not this half-and-half business.

[He can definitely hear those voices more distinctly now.]

What are those sounds?