SPOOKY HAUNTS AND TRAILS » OPEN

[maskreant]

WHO: the infamous nasty crimeboy, Akira Kurusu, and you!
WHERE: Places in Recolle
WHEN: Spooky Month of October
WHAT: EVENT STUFF and mundane stuff if it comes up. if you would like to plan anything, hit me up via halloway or hei#2323 on discord.
WARNINGS: Persona 5 spoilers for last boss battle and late-game conspiracy unveiling. Will update when necessary!

NOTE!! You can leave an empty comment with the subject header of your choice or even RANDOM for something unlisted/miscellaneous (lighthearted) and I'll write the prompt. For nightmares, it may skip around and make no sense very much like how actual dreams are.

nightmares

[ When you enter the dream, you're engulfed by darkness until you hear a deep and unfamiliar voice. It speaks in a language you are most comfortable with. ]

The contract has been sealed...

You have agreed to provide the Trickster support
in his journey to oppose fate and seek change.

CASINO
It's filled with a variety of gamblers from talking fish to actual people. Shadows are also gambling? But they're aggressive due to their mass losses. There are several elevators and it seems like the treasure is on the VIP level.

If you choose to enter the CASINO, you may appear outside of the structure or on the first floor in costume and mask. Akira will accompany you in his Joker outfit.

VELVET ROOM
Are you a prisoner? Or a keeper? You can stand behind the bars with Akira, withstand the abuse and rebel alongside him, or on the opposite side—ushered by two wardens and a man with an elongated nose to carry out discipline. Rehabilitation is important.

If you choose to enter the VELVET ROOM, you may appear inside or outside the cell. Your attire will change into prisoner wear or officer uniform respectively.

MEMENTOS (SPOILER)
In the city of Recolle, you notice there's something strange. People walk past the blood red rain and the towering skeleton pieces. The irrelevant become forgotten. The forgotten vanish. Is it your hand that's disappearing? Or is it Akira's?

If you choose MEMENTOS, you'll be in your normal attire or in your underwear. Whichever your character feels less attractive in if you want. Once again, Akira is beside you.

CODE CREDIT

fog

[ Akira has been having a hard time with his nightmares. Some of them he remembers bits and pieces (all useless), but he's thinking a jog in the ungodly time where the thick fog rolls in is a good idea? Unfortunately not... He ends up running away from one of these three tormentors in his pajamas. What's with his luck?

As he looks behind him, he crashes into someone. Sorry. ]

TWIN WARDENS (SPOILER)
Their names are unknown to you, but they're two girls with silver hair with a single golden eye (an eyepatch covers the other). As attendants of the Velvet Room, they have this ethereal aura to them, even menacing as they shoot various skills into the fog.

"Come back here, inmate! You can't hide forever!"

"You're only delaying the inevitable."

IMPERIOUS ANGEL (SPOILER)
An angel appears with an abstract body shape. Wings scaling wide and halo spinning over its head, it spreads its several hands that hold instruments. With the rise of the triangle, the angel rings it with a clear ding. In a matter of seconds, a flash of light magic strikes near.

"I am what humanity desires. Why oppose me?"

You can hear the sneer in its voice.

GOLD PIGGER
This silver piggy bank may seem cute, but it's also massively large and rolls without end. What does stop it from rolling are valuable items. Throw something expensive and it'll take a break to appraise it with a series of oinks. The one in control is a half-fly guy throwing out some mad rhymes.

"Yo yo yo! You think you can just walk into my neighborhood and disrespect me like that, dawg?"

CODE CREDIT

wildcard

[ THROW ME WHATEVER! Baby haunts from the new ghosts or even the Retrospec Maze! Even anything normal. ]

Comments

[maskreant]

[ IS THAT REALLY A MASK, CLEO? Akira is a little appalled by her choice of cognitive headgear, but he doesn't question it? Dream Akira is not the smartest, it seems like. However, the leather biker gear kind of reminds of someone, the girl in his dreams...

It seems like everyone aiding him has never been to a casino. This is going to be Great because he hasn't either. It's a lot easier to recognize Cleo than Sena, so he brightens up to seeing his training partner, but... ]

Right now it's Joker. You should get a code name, too.

[ He's not sure if he can explain the whole Phantom Thief thing seriously. It is supposed to be a secret. Maybe he can play it off as... He's not even sure. How likely will she take it as a stripper name? ]

It's a casino. [ Nailed it. ] And we're going to steal the corrupted owner's treasure.

[ Easy. ]

[cattack]

[IT'S MASK ENOUGH, OK.]

A code name...?

[She's confused, but that second part gets her to balk, tail puffing up in alarm.]

Steal?! I will have no part of a theft!

[maskreant]

Let's go with Jaguar?

[ SORRY, CLEO. He doesn't see why would you be against this, you justice fiend. Without a doubt, they're already looking for a way to get into the casino unnoticed. The front door is out of the question. ]

If we steal their treasure, they'll return to normal.

[ It's as simple as that. Vigilantism. ]

[cattack]

If I need a code name, then... Knight.

[she's going with that way too easily, but she prefers it to p2 palette panther Jaguar.]

What do you mean, 'return to normal'?

[maskreant]

[ Whispers: you and Sena are similar. Of course the dreams aren't continuous, so dream Akira can't make that correlation. He takes a moment to look at her ears, her outfit, and...

It's obvious he thinks Jaguar is better, but. ]

All right, Knight. [ IF SHE LIKES IT, SHE GETS IT. ] The person we're targeting is corrupt, but not everyone starts off like that. If we can complete this heist, they'll return to who they used to be and see the wrong they've done.

[ He hopes that's enough for her. It's a dream after all. Some of it probably won't make sense. Kind of like how there's just a Mario tunnel on the roof of this side of the building? ]

[cattack]

[... i just read up to find that and oh my god

DON'T TELL HER THAT OR SHE'LL GET MAD.]

... What? How is...

[She just sighs.]

This is a dream, isn't it? It doesn't make any sense... But I suppose I should simply follow the rules in here for now.

[maskreant]

What? This isn't a dream.

[ Of course Akira thinks this is as real as can be even though in hindsight... None of this seems right. They need to go down the tunnel and they'll turn into little pixel versions of themselves.

It seems like they're in the behind the scenes area of the casino... Though it's hard to tell because they're 2D pixels. There are some security guard mice around, very round and probably not dangerous. ]

You see, if you were Jaguar, I wouldn't be so worried.

[cattack]

... Why are you worried?

[She just. Stares at him, then back at the mice... guard... pixels.... Cleo's never played a video game in her life, so she's pretty concerned about this.]

If they're dangerous, I'll simply get rid of them.

[maskreant]

Still. I just hope we can handle this by ourselves... I usually have a couple of people with me for heists.

[ Like three more, but he can't say no to someone that can bench press him. The mice instantly notice them, but they scurry away deeper into the area. This only concerns him, but he leads Cleo in their pixel journey only to see they've formed into a large gladiator rat (but it's wearing a police hat) blocking entry to the casino's first floor.

It's time to use skills? Akira summons Yoshitsune and the random encounter zoom in happens. They're back to normal, but the rat is even more grotesque in 3D. It's practically foaming at the mouth.

"The ruler of this place knows what you're up to. We can't let you get to the treasure!" ]

Show me what you got.

[ The rat will lunch at them with fangs bared. ]

[cattack]

[the rat's going to be cat lunch, more like.

Cleo draws her sword and charges, swinging at the rat. It's a grotesque monster, sure... But so are the ones in her visions. She just lets those visions guide her, sidestepping the rat's lunge with a swing at its leg, aiming to lop it off in one blow.]

A monster is not fit to wear that hat.

[maskreant]

Many aren't.

[ While Akira wouldn't ever say this in person, he genuinely believes this. It seems that when she goes after it, it gains some armor that lightens the blow. For some reason, the rodent is rather mobile; its tail comes fast and elongates to a whip.

He's lucky to flip back before it snaps onto his angle, but now the rat is pulling out a gun? ]

[cattack]

Perhaps. But many true officers are.

[she steps forward, this time aiming a downward slash to cut off the whip-tail.]

[maskreant]

[ The tail comes flying off and the rat lets out a shrill cry before burst firing its rifle. Within no time, Yoshitsune flickers once to block the bullets—as least as many as he can. Some may stray, grazing them... Though it doesn't ultimately break skin.]

The world you envision must be just.

[ It seems the rat has last control, even going berserk. Its gunfire has no pattern and now does more damage, but Akira quickly sends Yoshitsune to electrocute it. It only needs one more hit before it goes down.]

[cattack]

[Cleo isn't the kind of superhero from her shows that can block bullets with her sword. All she can do is turn the sword flat and try to cover her vitals with it, letting the bullets graze away from her.]

The world is just. Eventually. Sometimes, or oftentimes, it is not just in the short term. But eventually, rightness will win out.

... If it is not just, it is our duty to make it so.

[That's what she believes, more than anything else. Justice will always prevail. In the short term, against monsters. In the long term, against society itself. Deceptions will always be uncovered eventually. The wicked will be exposed and face consequences for their crimes.

She pushes the rat's body away as it dissolves.]

[maskreant]

Justice isn't always pretty and it isn't always on the side of good. [ Akira knows that well, but— ] It still sounds like a nice place.

[ The rat is slain and they're back to their pixel self for a short bit. Akira goes ahead and hops onto the next tunnel and helps Cleo on before it lifts them up to the first floor of the casino. The lights are blinding and it's loud. Extravagant as always, they see plenty of people, monsters, and bipedal monsters gambling. ]

We'll need to go up the elevator.

[ But as they can see, they need member ID cards to access it... ]

[cattack]

Justice is on the side of good. By definition. If it is not good, it is not justice.

[That said... She flattens her ears, squinting at the casino. She doesn't like this one bit. Too much noise.]

... A member ID? How do we get those?

[maskreant]

We either sign up or we pickpocket one.

[ Akira thinks it's that easy? Despite all the talk about justice and good, he thinks they'll probably not see eye to eye and that's fine.

Things just gotta get done. ]

[cattack]

... That sounds like a frustrating waste of time.

[you leave the casino level alone, cleo, it's better than rats.

but either way, she's just. Walking right up to the elevator, drawing her sword, and ramming it right into the elevator door's crack, using it as a wedge to force the door open.]

[maskreant]

Cleo, I don't think—

[ Cleo? Cleo, no. The alarms start ringing throughout the casino and the danger meter goes up to 100%. The number of guards increase ten fold as they rush to apprehend the thieves.

Nope. Nope. Nope......... Akira quickly summons Satanael again to cast a rain of bullets, but they're literally tackling them down as if they're playing football. ]

[cattack]

This does make it much easier.

[Cleo's just backstepping, swinging her sword out from the door to let the guards run right into it, tearing it out to slash through another guard.]

If we simply eliminate them all, we won't have to hide.

[maskreant]

No... This isn't good.

[ Maybe he should have gone through the basics? But he had assumed, so it's all trouble in the end. While some of the guards are easily slain, the waves are endless. Then in the speakers, there's a voice that doesn't seem familiar at all.

"Please escort them out."

Akira can only handle so much before he's pinned down... And with that, the scene changes entirely. They're back in a normal Recolle right by the Retrospec building. He's exhausted. ]

[cattack]

[She gives it her best. There's endless waves, but she's fighting as hard as she can, carving through wave after wave... But maybe the her from her visions could have handled this, she herself cannot.

She grimaces, fighting as hard as she can... Until the scene changes.]

What- What was that?! Where are we now?

[maskreant]

We're in reality... We just failed the heist.

[ Cleo!!! Waves don't end in dreams, especially nightmares. Akira fiddles with his bangs as he chuckles a little nervously. What are they going to do? They can't enter the Palace until the next day now.

He guesses that's fine. ]

We can try again another time?

[ This is definitely still a dream, though... The way Recolle looks is a little strange with fish flying and pets as large bugs. ]

[cattack]

[SHE REMEMBERS THE LARGE BUGS.... and fish is causing uncomfortable memories of her own visions.]

What do you mean, we failed? I still don't understand.

[maskreant]

We were on a heist to change the person's heart.

[ He's not sure how else he should explain it. It entails a lot, so he's scratching the back of his head. ]

If we fail, something bad happens I think... Like our futures are taken away.

[ As if showcasing that, their surroundings start disappearing one small section at a time. ]