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[reveriemod]

» WHO? Everyone
» WHEN? August 16th onwards
» WHERE? All over the station, and in the Metaverse
» WHAT? Time for the Metaverse and it's fun perks to come into action on Reverie Terminal...
» WARNINGS? violence

0 0 1 » THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT

A new function has appeared on the communication device for some characters: a strange symbol with an eye, and no obvious use. Do you try to delete it? It might work, for a little while. But it comes back, no matter what lengths you take to get rid of this thing.

If a character chooses to run the app, they'll find that it's called the Metanav, and it speaks to them in a feminine voice: "Please enter a destination." It seems to want a voice command.

Unfortunately, any combination of words you try will result in a gentle error sound and that voice saying, "Conditions have not been met." There's no lock-out or limit to how many attempts you can make, and it will keep rejecting every try.

(As a note of interest, the name Goro Akechi in full, spoken anywhere near a device that carries the Metanav -- a one in a million chance, sure, but coincidences happen -- will earn a victorious chime from the app and a triumphant, "Destination found." But from there it seems to want more keywords...)

0 0 2 » ENTER THE METAVERSE

A few days after the Metanav appearing for some residents of the station, someone is definitely putting it to use. But Reverie is a close-quarters situation, and not every corner and corridor can be checked before turning on the app. On top of that, some devices are activating the Metanav on their own, without a destination at all -- people are being dragged in left and right.

You feel something strange wash over you, like vertigo. But nothing seems to have happened. You're still in the station, and your surroundings are... mostly normal. Actually, something isn't quite right. It's hard to put your finger on it; the air feels wrong, heavy, and the shadows are darker, the station even more unsettling than usual.

And everyone around you is gone.

You can search for hours, and maybe you'll find one or two other unfortunate souls in the same situation as you, but that's it. The rest of the station's residents have vanished.

If you have the Metanav app on your communication device, you're in luck: using it will bring you right back to the station as normal, like sliding between one plane of reality to another. If you don't have the Metanav... you're stuck. Alone.

0 0 3 » HERE THERE BE SHADOWS

Wandering around the strange "other" station is mostly uneventful. Everything about it seems to be unchanged in terms of layout; the same doors are still blocked off, the rooms are in the same locations, the view from the Observation Deck is the vast expanse of space...

But you're not as alone here as you thought.

There are monsters. They come in various shapes and sizes, some of them humanoid and some of them far from it. There don't seem to be a lot of them around, so it's easy to miss them entirely, but if you do run into them, they'll attack without hesitation, and some of them are strong.

If you can fight back: magic is most effective against them in every case. Fighting them physically is a strange case, because if you think it will work, it will, no matter what your weapon. If you don't think it'll work, then it won't.

If you can't fight back, and nobody comes to save you: you're dead. At least you'll wake up in the real world.

0 0 4 » YOU'RE NOT ME

There's one more thing populating the "other" station. They come and go at random, sometimes there and sometimes not -- strange, spectral images of other people. Their faces are vague and they don't seem to have any interest in you, seeming to talk to themselves even when you try to get their attention, but they're definitely people. They have enough features to tell them apart, and some of them seem almost familiar.

One of them is you.

It's not a clear image, just enough to be distinguishable, but it is you. Like looking at your own ghost. Its eyes, though -- its eyes are a little bit wrong. Yellowish.



This plot was brought to you by your Persona cast! All players who have signed up can have the Metaverse app appear on their communicators. The Phantom Thieves are here to rescue anyone who wants their heart stolen, and are available to discuss plotting. Once the Metaverse appears on Reverie, it will not disappear.

Comments

enjoy #2 hinata

[uragiru]

[ Akechi only re-enters the Metaverse, over and over again, to investigate it. he isn't here to save people. but he's not a heartless monster, either. there's no real cost-benefit analysis to be made of the situation, because there's very little cost or benefit that exists on this station anyway; it's just that he doesn't see any need to leave lost souls behind to die when he could just as easily shoo them out of the Metaverse and go on his way unhindered.

it's less simple when there's a Shadow involved, and he could always run too, but that irks him somehow, worse given that it's Hajime Hinata running away. it won't matter if he dies, he tells himself. it won't matter, and — Pyro Jack. he can kill Pyro Jack, even with nothing but a straight razor in his hand, because all he needs is a weapon and a conviction. he steps between the Shadow and Hinata, and takes a swipe at it; darts to the side to dodge an Agi, looks back at Hinata to see if the Phantom Thieves have at least given their stray pet something to defend himself with—

Hinata may not be able to see his rescuer's face behind the pointed mask and the helmet that covers him from his chin to the top of his head, but he'd know the voice that snaps at him: ]

Is that a gun? [ he sounds incredulous, angry. ] What are you doing?! Shoot it!

i will but he Sure Won't!!!!!!

[hopefragment]

[When it spits fire, Hajime lets out another shout of surprise and more than a little fright, dodging wildly sideways and ramming his shoulder into the closest wall. Not always the best at being aware of his surroundings.

Who the hell is this guy?! There's no way he can take it on with that kind of weapon (he thinks), and his mouth is open to say so, to shout that they run, but Goro beats him to the punch.

Goro. He does recognize that voice, though last time he'd heard it, it had been filled with a dismissive malice. Hajime tries to choke back a reflexive surge of dislike; the Shadow isn't exactly going to wait for them to hash out their differences.]

Don't you think I already tried that?! [he snaps, ready to dodge again if he has to,] It's just a stupid toy!

[uragiru]

[ it's not just incompetence. Hinata really doesn't know what to do. there's a flash of anger spared in the back of his mind for the Thieves and their blindness, the fact that they took Hinata in and let him go on thinking their group was just some kind of exclusive friendship circle. he used to respect their conviction, if nothing else. but Hinata joining like it's an after-school club undermines the entire operation.

as long as Akechi means to fight, the straight razor will suffice; he knows that, but that doesn't mean it's a good weapon. just that he'll know, instinctively, how best to use it. he swings it at the Shadow again and then stabs it right in its torso, taking advantage of the moment when it reels back to whirl on Hinata: ]

For fuck's sake— Give it here!

[ he can kill it with a gun, he's sure of it. ]

[hopefragment]

[Hajime flinches -- he's not familiar enough with Goro's way of speaking to catch it as something odd for him to say, not when the last conversation he'd had with him had been filled with such derisiveness and disdain, but it's the vehemence that catches him off guard. It's just a stupid toy, he wants to say again, but even if it's a toy, he's loath to give it up. Somehow, he's supposed to be able to use it as a weapon. That's what they've told him.

...They also didn't want him in here by himself, but, you know. Details. The idea of just handing over the only thing he has as a weapon to someone who probably doesn't care whether he lives or dies coats his tongue with a sour taste of helplessness.

It's that same helplessness that lets him know that he doesn't really have a choice. Goro might not care whether he lives or dies, but Hajime doesn't need to see him keep fighting, and potentially getting hurt, just because he was too selfish to give up a weapon he can't use in the first place.]

F-Fine, here! Take it!

[The deliberation comes across as a beat of hesitation before Hajime tosses the gun at him, though the anger and resentment and bitter resignation is clear in his face.]

[uragiru]

[ well, he thinks, at least Hinata isn't spiteful enough to get them both killed. Akechi catches the gun deftly out of the air, and he turns in a fluid motion, his hand lifting, arm held straight — he shoots like someone comfortable with a gun. like you see in movies, that kind of cold, certain confidence in what he does. in Hinata's hands, the weapon may have seemed to be just a toy, but when Akechi pulls the trigger it cracks through the air with the deafening sound of a real bullet being fired: one-two-three in rapid succession, right between Pyro Jack's eyes.

and the Shadow dissolves, burns away into nothing.

without even pausing over it, Akechi turns back to Hinata, and his expression is a familiar one. he looks at him with disdain, eyes flinty and mouth set in a hard line. the Thieves are idiots. but even he doesn't think they'd let someone so clueless about the Metaverse wander around on their own, no matter whether he's supposedly a part of their team or not, which makes this its own brand of idiocy. ]

Well, now that that's out of the way. [ he doesn't offer the gun back. ] What are you doing in here without a babysitter, Hinata?

[hopefragment]

[It scares him, how cool and composed Goro looks. If this were a movie, or a TV set, maybe he'd be impressed. But this is real life.

He flinches with each shot; gunfire sounds so much louder when it's right in front of him. His eyes are locked on the dissolving Shadow, only looking back to Goro when he speaks. And he's not so scared that he's forgotten his pride, back stiffening as his lips curl into a snarl.]

None of your business. What's with the outfit?

[It's... certainly an outfit. The others' clothing had looked cool. Goro? Not so much. Not that Hajime's one to talk, what with his normal school uniform, but the point stands.]

[uragiru]

[ hostility doesn't bother him at all. if anything, he'd rather get a reaction like this than the way the others speak to him, refusing to rise to the bait as if he's that far beneath them that it doesn't even matter. he takes the mask and helmet piece off with both hands, his hair spilling out to frame his face, and tucks it under his arm. he gives Hinata an unpleasant, knife-sharp smile. ]

It's one of a few. They change depending on what Persona I use.

[ the tone of his voice is still cold; he's obviously not offering this information to be helpful. it's only reminding Hinata that he lacks what comes easily to the others, to Akechi. really, he feels nothing but contempt for someone who can't think for himself. going along with society's demands because it's the best way to survive is one thing. but as far as he can tell, Hinata took up arms for a cause he doesn't believe in, for no reason other than wanting somewhere to belong.

he wonders if Hinata dislikes him for the things he's done, or because he just reminds Hinata of his inadequacies. well, he can relate to that. he's hated Ren for the same reason sometimes. ]

I suppose if you want to get yourself killed, it won't matter anyway. [ he clicks his tongue, condescending: ] But you could at least try to defend yourself, don't you think?

[hopefragment]

[Of course it comes easily to him. Goro seems like the kind of person that things just come easily to. Once, Hajime might have admired that about him. If he's honest with himself, there's still a part of him that does admire it, tucked deep inside himself where he tries not to acknowledge it.

His lips curl into a snarl of frustration; he knows Goro has the gun Ryuji gave him, and it doesn't sit right with him having to beg for it back. He dislikes Goro for what he's done in the past, yes, but it's the way he spoke with him afterward that really intensified it into something personal.]

I didn't ask for your help, you know. What, did you just want someone to gloat over? Or am I supposed to believe you helped me out of the goodness of your heart?

[uragiru]

Are you always this self-centred?

[ he says it with a mean smile, as if he already knows the answer. isn't that what it would be called, to join a group that believes in something, a group that wants to change the world and to go into it thinking of nothing but your own self-esteem? Akechi hates the Thieves. he thinks they're idiots, children playing at heroes; liars who can't possibly believe in the justice they claim to seek. but he can respect them, for consistency if nothing else. for taking action in a society that is content to rot in its own grave. Hajime Hinata is not a Phantom Thief.

it's a little surprising, how angry it makes him to see Hinata pretending, and the Thieves allowing it. he may have hated them, but they meant quite a lot to him, back when he was alive. ]

It had nothing to do with you. I just don't want to deal with the Thieves if they find out I left their stray to die. [ rather than turning and walking away in the other direction, he moves to walk past Hinata. he's not handing the gun over. ] That Shadow was in my way too, you know? Killing it wasn't anything impressive.

[hopefragment]

[It's funny, because Hajime sees himself as exactly as much of a Thief as Goro does; Hajime feels like a hanger-on, even moreso now that the Metaverse Ryuji had explained to him is an actual, physical thing that he's forced to encounter. Hajime doesn't feel like he belongs, nor does he think he can actually awaken the kinds of powers the others are so insistent on believing he can.

It's why he can't manage to make something as relatively simple and fundamental as the gun work for him.

He flinches at the word die. He doesn't want to die here, and at this rate, he's going to die here, if he doesn't pull himself out of this world, or learn to use the gun properly.]

If it's so easy for you, give me Ryuji's gun back.

[It's not his gun, he can't call it that. Even if it's just a toy in his hands, it's better than nothing, probably. Not to mention he doesn't want to go to his friends, metaphorical hat in hands, to explain why he doesn't have the weapon they trusted him with.]