closed || interstice of time

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WHO: Minako, Minato, Angela, Yosuke, and Koromaru
WHERE: Subway tunnels
WHEN: Sometime in January
WHAT: Persona Team M is heading in to do a little exploring!
WARNINGS: Usual Persona theme warnings. Each header will have different sections of the tunnel exploration prompts from the main log, so tag into where you want to tag!

Comments

I. THE JOURNEY BEGINS

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[Events of note:

• A soft yellow light can be seen from the entrance of the tunnel.
• Deeper in, there are sounds of a transportation hub, and of subway cars moving along the tracks.
• Vines and roots will come out from the walls to stop them, and red eyes follow them around.
• Large rat-like creatures will rush out to try and stop them.]

[compendiem]

[ There are five of them, and that's honestly four more than Minato would have liked. ]

Minako, why'd you bring your dog...

[ If you give him a knife, Minato's going to have an aneurysm or something. Did he completely misread the situation and this is actually a fun little outing with friends and not a trek into the perilous unknown? He'd thought the latter was the case, so he carries two weapons on him: a full quiver and a bow glowing warmly on his back, and a sword in his hands that shines with a colder light, hand shaking slightly as he holds onto the hilt of it. ]

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[Might as well start having that aneurysm now, Minato. Koromaru's had a special holster for his knife for a while now, handmade by Minako, and it's right there strapped to his leg for the occasion. Minako herself has a waterproof backpack on, Evoker in a holster on her hip and spear in hand. She hasn't really needed Velora since October, so some quick warm ups are absolutely necessary right now.

Twirl twirl twirl, goes the spear.]

Korochan is special. He fought alongside the other Minako and held his own.

[Koromaru barks in agreement, tail wagging.]

[compendiem]

[ I laugh forever that Minako's battle animation shows that she knows exactly what she's doing with a naginata and Minato so clearly does not. Her twirling it around is enough to make him close his eyes and count down from three before opening it. His training with his bow has been slow but steady, and that with his other weapons completely nonexistent, only bringing the sword today because there likely isn't room to fire arrows inside the subway. In a fight, he'll rely on her, but he's still hesitant about the dog.

He crouches down in front of Koromaru, studying him closely. ]

I took you to the movies...

[ Like he was nothing more than just a dog; it's still hard to believe. ]

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[Koromaru tilts his head and perks his ears forward. He does remember going to the movies, but that was with a certain someone else. Still, he's a good and friendly puppy, and butts his head against Minato's hand before offering his paw out to shake.

Minako, meanwhile, is still doing drills, but she's also got an ear on the conversation. Because eavesdropping is a good way to get info out of Minato, I guess.]

[compendiem]

[ He's gotten scattered memories of a lot of people, but nothing that ties them all together or suggests that they were part of anything together. As Koromaru is right now, he's just a dog to Minato, someone whose trust and loyalty Minato doesn't have quite yet, and so he's simply one of the many other dogs Minato pours his care towards instead of people.

That care isn't talking to Koromaru or playing with him, but methodically taking his paw and checking the pads, the claws, looking from one eye to the other and everything from his ears to his teeth to his fur to make sure he's looking healthy and ready to go at any given notice. ]

[youraffection]

[ Koromaru is a gift and the best dog. No one should shade him, even in meta. Yosuke isn't much of an animal person, but Koromaru is the exception. Such a good dog.

Yosuke rolls his shoulders as he glances down into the tunnel. ]

So are we heading in or what?

[ He's got a pair of daggers that he acquired from his trip into the unreality, as well as some medieval looking leather plating, also courtesy of that Retrospec-provided trip. ]

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[Koromaru appreciates the check up nevertheless, tail wagging and giving Minato an appreciative lick on his cheek after he's done before bounding off to Minako's side, where she's walked over to join Yosuke.]

If everyone's ready, then yeah, let's go. We aren't going to find anything by standing out here!

[A confident, Leader Mode smile! And then she's turning and walking in, turning on her clip-on flashlight.]

Remember to stick close to the group, and yell if you see or hear anything weird.

[compendiem]

[ Minato wipes the dog spit off his cheek with the back of his sleeve, wanting to say something about the "weird" thing being Minako playing leader and acting as if they were all children she needs to take care of. But he keeps the thought at the back of his mind as he lingers behind, waiting until Minako heads in and everybody else to follow so that he can bring up the rear, his weapons shining light on everybody before him so that he can keep an eye on everybody from behind. ]

[youraffection]

Buddy-system, go.

[ Yosuke doesn't mind it at all. Minako's been good to him since day one, and he takes her as his assigned Persona Team Lead fairly seriously.

He'll glance over his shoulder at Minato and offer the other boy a grin. Yeah, he's quiet, but that hasn't deterred Yosuke much in the past. (Look at who he's dating.) ]

Guess you got pretty lucky with your Retrospec gifts, huh?

[ He's assuming, albeit correctly, that Minato's weapon is from Retrospec. Not many places to get magical glowy bows in Recolle otherwise.

Still better than his fighting fish. ]

[compendiem]

[ No... Minato doesn't want the buddy system, go away Yosuke. But keeping together as a group means that Minako would notice if his light started dropping further behind, so he keeps at Yosuke's heels, voice his normal low and quiet so that he can't very easily be overheard by a certain someone up front. ]

Don't know if it's lucky. They sent me an armory of seven types of weapons.

[ And they're all either glowy or bloody or slathered with poison. ]

[androidheart]

[Angela trails behind the group a bit, because keeping up the rear is extremely important! Or something! It's nice to see Yosuke and Minato chatting...Even if Minato is being Minato. Her two favorite Recollé boys in the same party! How splendid!]

A man of unlimited potential!

Minato Arisato––weaponmaster!

[compendiem]

[ The rear is getting crowded and Minato abandons post to speed up a little and maybe join Koromaru's side instead, wishing the tunnels were narrow enough that a single file rule can be enforced. ]

I think I'd rather be a fishmonger than a weapons master.

[youraffection]

[ ...

Fish. Minato's not bringing up fish because of Yosuke's unfortunate fishcapades, is he? He hopes not. Suspicious as he is. ]

Er, you sure about that?

[ Okay, well, Angela, Yosuke is more than happy to be your buddy. ]

This is gonna be your first big expedition, huh?

[compendiem]

[ He is definitely bringing up fish because of that. They've been frozen so long, he's sure they're solid enough to make for a great bludgeon weapon. ]

Yeah. Got some tips for us, Senpai?

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["Lower your voices" would be one Minako would suggest, since anything waiting for them in the tunnels can hear them loud and clear right now...but before she can speak, Koromaru leaps into the air, pulling out his knife from his holster and executing a spin attack on a vine shooting out towards her.

He lands on his feet and growls low in his throat as more vines start snaking out from the shadows, and Minako swings her spear into ready position.]

Keep your eyes peeled.

[compendiem]

[ It's not like there's any room in the narrow subway tunnels to sneak by anything even if they all kept dead silent and were able to maneuver without a light source. He'd thought he could get away with bringing up the rear, but the moment the vine lashes and is cut down by Koromaru, he wishes he were right up there in the front lines— Minako's weapon has a long reach and covers a wide area, though, so being up there with her would only be him getting in the way.

He grips his sword a little tighter, hand shaking a little stronger, hurrying their pace into a dash past the plants. Vines are new for him, but not Christmas garlands that acted so similarly aggressive. Instead of cutting the vines down, though, Minato smacks them aside with the flat of his blade as they run past, not wanting to cut them in fear that- rather than killing them- he'll simply be pruning them to grow back even stronger than before. ]

[youraffection]

[ See, this is why Koromaru is a good dog. The best dog.

Yosuke can play best dog too. Admittedly he jumps at the first attack, but instinct starts to take over as he readies his daggers as well. His real crash course had been having to fight off giant lizards, skeletons, and clingy well witches back in August. After that, he feels like he's ready for anything. (That and, you know, quite a bit of practice.) ]

Incoming!

[ Two, three--four more vines shoot out towards the group. Rather than slashing at the first, Yosuke ducks and it smacks the wall, leaving a visible dent and some broken stone. ]

Be careful--they're strong!

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Got it!

[She dodges one, but another is determined to play tug of war with her over her spear. Minako quickly twists Velora in a tight circle, winding the vine around the spearhead and yanking back. The tension on the plant allows her to cut clean through it, and with that success, Minako turns to take on her next opponent, her hand pulling out her Evoker--

only to have the remainder of the vine she cut wrap around her waist and throw her thirty feet away. The Evoker clatters to the ground near Minato's feet, and Minako rolls to a stop, immediately pushing herself up to get in the fight again.]

[compendiem]

[ Crap. Crap- even if they cut the vines, as long as they're still long enough, they can still move. He was stupid for trying to spare them, switching his sword to his left hand while he stoops to pick up the evoker in his right. From where he stands, he can only cut down the vines closest to him, unable to reach his sister, but with a gun... ]

Keep down!

[ He points the evoker at the vine's base as close to the wall as he can see, and pulls the trigger four times in quick succession— it clicks hollowly four times in quick succession. Is it not loaded, or-- ]

Minako, where's the safety on this?!

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It's not a normal gun, it doesn't have one!

[She's trying to get back to the others, dodging and weaving and cutting where she can, but she's been separated from the group, and the vines are pressing their advantage, forcing her deeper into the pitch black tunnels. Not good, not good!]

Throw it here!

II. MEMORIES OF THE SCHOOL

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[Events of note:

• Lots of pathways to get lost in.
• One of the pathways leads to five abandoned, dimly lit up subway cars.
• The first and second car are full of leftover things from the former passengers, with newspapers and other personal belongings that date back fifty years.
• The third car is a kitchen car, with some spoiled food, but also food from modern stores and restaurants, too. Eating this food will cause side effects like dizziness, temporary loss of taste and/or sight, and sudden transparency. Effects will go away after an hour.
• The fourth car is a car full of instruments, audio equipment, and a silver screen at the front. Eventually the door will slam, this song will play, and the car will go down its tracks. One of your character's regained memories will play on the screen after the song is done, and an unseen audience aside from the other members of the team will react appropriately to the memory.
• The fifth car is all but a skeleton. Touching it will cause it to come to life, with metal, arm-like appendages coming out to try and grab you.]

[compendiem]

[ Monorail memories please...

Minato doesn't know about the others, but he imagines all these instruments scattered around would interest Angela in particular, and he steps inside the fourth car, eyes sweeping the interior for instruments that he doesn't have to place his lips on. In a corner, a harp's been left abandoned, some of the strings snapped and the others out of tune as he runs his fingers across them in one smooth motion, filling the room with an eerie but hauntingly beautiful tone. ]

III. RAISING THE CURTAIN

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[Events of note:

• All pathways and tunnels eventually lead to a grand central hub. Nobody is around, but there are a variety of shops and pop up stores that appear to be typical and popular of various decades of the past. There are also modern stores too, like Tanaka's Shopping Channel and the Moogle Shop.
• There's a store with Retrospec's logo on it. It looks like a travel agency, with brochures to various places, some that might be from character memories, though there is no new information to glean from them.
• There's a large book bolted down to a table that says "Welcome to Recollé". It contains important information!
• At 6pm sharp, an announcement over the PA system will inform characters that the last train back to Recollé is now boarding. There will be a completely new and nicely outfitted subway car waiting. It departs at 6:30pm and arrives back to the front tunnel entrance at 7pm before returning back the way it came once the last passenger has stepped off.]

[compendiem]

[ Ugh... Minato's been getting better at building up his stamina without dying within half an hour, but it's like all his energy escapes him the moment they step into what looks like a shopping mall. He can't do this. He's just going to find a little bench somewhere and be one of these guys. ]

Wake me up when we're ready to go.