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« november: the farplane »

This is our Open Log for players to have an easy opportunity to tag others and have fun with prompts that deal with current happenings that are not covered by our MANTA Board quests. Sometimes we provide extra quests at the bottom, but oftentimes we just let the MANTA Board cover it. Players are free to include MANTA Board quests in their toplevels!

Because this is a special event released thanks to the point donations, all threads based off the event are worth 6 points.

Note: This is an opt-in event with the IC timeline lasting throughout the rest of the month. This means a character could go into the Farplane for one day and then sit out for the rest of the month to either go about their business or deal with the troubles that are occurring in the living world. The event should "conclude" by the end of the month, but we will use AC Submissions for details.

For your toplevel, please include the following: Character Name | Canon | Armada Choice.

TOPLEVEL DIRECTORY (Updated November 27th)

As reports of ghosts not returning to the Farplane continue as well as now visible signs of the cracks forming between the realm of the dead and of the living, great measures must now be taken. Tapirfolk who call themselves guardians of the Farplane will be ferried to Eltrut by Envoy Jades and will coordinate with high officials who are more familiar with the spiritual realm. From there, word spreads to the other major leviathans, meetings are conducted, and an organized expedition is set.

It is revealed the newly discovered island of fog, Samdre is a suitable "landing point" for Envoy Jades to ferry those who volunteer to enter the Farplane. However, rather than by any shore, the staging area is in the middle of the island, where a black lake has appeared, one that was certainly not there before. It's here that the Asmodeus will appear in its ghastly glory and everyone will disembark to the Farplane. More of the guardians as well as strange deer will be there as well. To enter the Farplane, however, there are a few things one needs to be aware of:

» Soul expulsion. A living body cannot enter the Farplane, so the soul must be expelled instead. The soul will remain tethered to the body so that it will be able to return easily.
» 3 hour time limit. A living soul can only exist in the Farplane for on average three hours. After which, they must either return to Envoy Jades or activate the provided talisman to immediately return to their bodies. Those who have experienced death before can last at most an hour longer before needing to leave.
» Risk of death. Should a living person stay too long in the Farplane, they risk death and could become a permanent resident of the Farplane unless they can be revived and brought back to life within 24 hours. Fortunately there are different methods to revive a person, and there will be a good stock of Vials of Liquid Life available.
» Side effects. Upon returning to the living, one will feel great fatigue and extreme sickness, as if they had been drowning and brought back to life. These effects last at most an hour and medics on hand will help try to reduce it.
» Downtime. Because of these risks, all who go in will need to stay out of the Farplane for a few hours, even days, or else there could be further strain on the soul.

For those who do not wish to enter the Farplane or are taking a break from their last trip, help in protecting the bodies or tending to the sick will be greatly appreciated. Buildings have been secured to house the bodies and tents are also established for those needing immediate care upon returning.

INTO THE FARPLANE

Once ready, those who board Envoy Jades's ship will need the travel time through the seemingly endless darkness to adjust to being just a soul. Only the lights on the ship will grant them any visibility, and it's under these lights they will notice their forms begin to look more solid, until eventually they look almost like their living body—just a lot paler. They are also able to touch and feel things while also having the ability to pass through objects. Because is anything actually solid in the underworld? Fortunately they won't be able to pass through the ship due to its unique qualities and magic.

Eventually a light will appear, and it will grow and grow and grow until in a blinding flash they breach through and are greeted by a mystical sight. The bell of Cassiopea, the jellyfish that contains all of Farplane, shimmers high above them and is endless. There is no clear beginning or end, it just stretches on forever, the darkness beyond like the night sky. Things float or fly in the air—it's hard to tell if one is underwater or not—and it's not too long before they see what looks to be large land masses with buildings like those found in ancient kingdoms. With lush coral reef forests and seagrass hills, although paler in color, it doesn't look too different from the land of the living.

As they approach what looks to be a white crystalline shore, they are told that they are near Respite Reef, a place where souls that are newly arrived and have yet to accept their fate first stay. This is so they can have the space and protection to acclimate to the afterlife, and reduce risk if they are unable to accept and corrupt instead. Those who choose to slumber for eternal rest or until they are ready to awaken again are taken to a place further beyond called the Gravewaters. Where they are going, however, is the Breathing Depths, where most souls live out their afterlife.

Here it is both a "lively" yet "peaceful" place, where souls drift around almost lazily. The concepts of wants, desires, and needs are extremely diminished. While some may hold onto a few things from their past life, many will have completely let go of them to exist happily. Before setting out, it may be a good idea to look around and understand what it's like to "live" in the Farplane.

🙅‍♂️ In denial. Some recently arrived souls may not be ready for the afterlife, and it’s not unusual to see souls try to fight against the guardians or other souls in a last-ditch effort to return home. Help them calm down, either with a comforting word or perhaps by force, and help bring them to Respite Reef.

🫧 Bubble jumping. Moving through the farplane feels much lighter than it does in the living world. Gravity is just a touch lighter in this place. With the amount of large bubbles and jellyfish floating around, it might be fun to be able to jump up on bubbles and jump and float around on them. Reach higher junctions by jumping from bubble to bubble, or make it into a race to see who can get the farthest with a friend.

🐟 Pyreguppies. Swimming around the Farplane are hundreds if not thousands of little glowing guppies that hover and play around any traveling souls. These little floating fishies are playful and sweet, trying to give little kisses to anyone who might still be clinging to life. If they come into contact with a soul, they can give a small warm memory of someone lost.

🍎 Black crabapples. Pretty black crabapple trees grow in random circles all around the Farplane. Despite being black with little crab shaped bits, the apples look tantalizing and delicious and draw souls in to want to snack on them. When eaten, the eater will experience extreme forgetfulness to the point that they don’t even remember who they are. Luckily, the effect only lasts for a few hours.

🎐 Good wishes. In order to support any lost souls wandering about, it is encouraged to write good wishes on small slips of paper and to tie them to trees. It doesn’t only need to be good wishes to the souls here, it can also be good wishes for the people in your life or someone you often think about too. These wishes will cheer up souls that rest here.

📿 Sticky charms. It’s a common trick to ward off the darker spirits by using special handwritten sticky charms with a small ruin spell on it that wards them away. Create some sticky charms and apply them to the forehead in order to make them the most effective.

☁️ Bubble clouds. If caught in one of the various floating puffs of sticky bubble clouds, the soul stuck inside it might experience their perfect bliss. Be it a dream about fulfilling their most sought after desires, finishing a long-lost goal or falling in love. The dream will be so blissful that the soul might not want to leave and be stuck there forever… Don’t let anyone get stuck.

Closer to the edge of the Breathing Depths and towards the wilder area known as the "Uncharted," there are a few natural places one should be aware of. There is a large steaming herbal hot spring that can be found and souls are compelled to come sit in it and to enjoy it. Although, stay long enough and a soul might melt and change into the shape of a frog or otter or any other aquatic creature. The purple and green seagrass fields can be found flourishing through the Farplane. The watercress and seagrass is thick and soft, like a whole forest of colorful grassy fluff. These watery grasses are light to the touch and if walked through, will give traveling souls a sleepy feeling. Falling asleep with someone here will let dreams be shared between companions.

FARPLANE: DARK SIDE

While most of the Farplane is safe, it is natural for there to be areas that are dangerous. The Uncharted, for instance, is a vast wilderness where most souls of animals and beasts roam. More dangerous, in the dark depths deep within Cassiopea is an area called The Locker. It is where the most vicious, unrepentant, monstrous souls are locked away. Unable to be purified, they are slowly tormented and destroyed by the ghostly leviathan. However, there are occasional leaks where some of that malignant energy seeps out into the rest of the Farplane. Referred to as blackwater, the guardians are usually quick to find and clear it up, but sometimes souls will get caught or perhaps even seek out the blackwater.

Regardless of how, souls affected by the blackwater will turn into malignant entities called "malice" and will corrupt the energy around them. If not taken care of quickly, it can spread, attracting more hostile souls and creatures as well as corrupting peaceful ones. The guardians and barrier around the Breathing Depths keep them at bay, but there has been an unusual spike that is making it difficult for them to contain and attacks more frequent. Those that go out to help need to be careful not to be corrupted themselves.

⚫ Black ooze. Although can be mistaken for blackwater, this black ooze is thicker in substance, like tar. It can be cleared out, but care still needs to be taken. Those trapped by it or exposed to it for too long will experience immense despair, vividly recalling their greatest regrets and moments of hopelessness. This can cause a soul to be corrupt, so although it's not blackwater, it's being treated similarly.

👻 Heliobi. Energy-sucking ghost-like parasites, they take root in a host’s nervous system and slowly feed on their emotions and energy. They will use the host’s deepest, darkest desires to create wild delusions and manipulate the host like a chess piece. The host has no choice but to obey and is possessed. If left long enough, the host will no longer be who they once were and will be exhausted by the heliobi. To stop these creatures, an “evil binding matrix relic” will be needed to imprison the abominations. Or just smack them around enough until they come to.

👾 Dearly Departed Foes. The Farplane is not only home to the souls of people, but also animals and other creatures. Those who venture deep into the Farplane may also come across the departed souls of monsters that had once been hunted as bounties in the land of the living. They’re definitely not happy about seeing the face of those who had slain them, so they will be hostile to those who were the reason for their demise. Arm yourself carefully if you want to fight these bounty monsters a second time!

☠️ Marked for Death. Corrupted souls may recognize those who were once dead and now living, marking them as a target of aggression by souls angry at their circumstances. Those who have returned from death may even have ghosts try to replace their souls with their own, or even displace them and drag them deep into the Farplane to join the dead properly.

👥 Possessions. There are more aggressive, fearless souls that seek out bodies of the living to possess. Like the others, they will feed on the memories of those that they encounter. However, unlike the ones that simply take shape, they will possess the body of the ones they find. Sometimes, they will make for a very convincing version of that person, and other times, they will take on the form of another in those memories. They will act like them, speak like them, and bear all of the same memories. A powerful soul may even be able to change the host's appearance, though it may "glitch" out and appear strange, as if something is slightly off. Be careful not to get caught by these ghosts, or else they might just follow people out. Find a way to dispel them or fend them off before they take over the body and mind completely...

The cracks from within the Farplane are more likely to be found in the Uncharted area, making them harder to find. They appear like giant gashes, as if someone had claws through the air or the ground, and a distorted view of the land of the living can be seen. Once found, however, it only needs to be attacked to be destroyed. However, care must be given to not be pulled out of the Farplane and back into the world. Because their souls are still alive, they are more likely to be pulled out and fairly quickly. If that happens, they will need to either re-enter the crack or risk being stuck outside and needing to make their way back to their body as the talisman will not work.

The ghost ship Envoy Jades had been trying to hunt down will be seen appearing and disappearing to attack certain parts of Cassiopea at random, creating and leaving cracks behind. When not ferrying the dead, Envoy Jades will take his ship and chase after it to try and rid of it once and for all. Those who wish to help will be armed with special purifying relics made and brought from outside, and because they are still living they are the only ones who can use it. These relics are all long range, from cannons to long range firearms to harpoons to magic staves. If enough people are able to use and hit the ship, they should be able to destroy it so that Envoy Jades can collect and drag the souls to the Locker where they belong.

REALM OF THE LIVING

With ghosts and creatures slipping through the cracks all over the world, those of the living need to do their part to deal with the issues brewing on their side. Fortunately, the number of ghosts and ghouls have been significantly reduced, so rather than a flood of attacks there are only a few that appear here and there. Thus it's manageable but still a problem, especially as the days drag on and it continues to persist. For those focusing on the general dangers and ghosts, there are a few ways one can help.

🦴 Gravestones. Several of the dull gravestones outside the Farplane’s entrance are grimy and icky with mud and time. Cleaning them might be able to protect the entrance of the Farplane better and keep the souls that are going inside safer. Clean the graves and offer them stories about your life to help them glow with energy again.

🧵 Leylines. There are several long tendrils of energy connecting the living world to the Farplane. These lines of energy are the very tethers that keep souls grounded and so they can return to the living world when the time is right. In order to keep them strong, use magic and energy to fuel the tether’s power. Letting them go out will surely mean a lost soul never returning.

🎶 Sing a verse. The Farplane is also incredibly sensitive to heartfelt emotions. To keep the score between the living world and the Farplane stable, sing a song together about something meaningful or heartfelt. Let the energy and sound fill up and strengthen the energy between both. Don’t be afraid, sing a song! Any song! Give it some ompph!

🌑 Shadow Beasts Some emotions and lingering resentment or regret coalesce and manifest into ephemeral, shadowy monsters that can be found lurking on the edges of the Farplane and devouring any lost soul that strays too far. These shadow beasts take all kinds of forms, and are drawn to particularly strong emotions, both positive and negative. They can be defeated with magical attacks, but overwhelming them with strong, positive emotions can help calm and dispel them naturally.

👥 Fight for your life. Just because someone is not in the Farplane does not mean they are safe from it. The escaped souls are searching for any unfortunate person they can drag back to replace their soul so that they can continue to stay in the land of the living by any means necessary. Whether it is kidnapping, fighting, or even trying to kill. Those who have experienced death before will be especially targeted. Help those who are being taken and try to subdue and fight off these souls to send them back where they belong.

The next important matter to deal with are the cracks. Just like in the Farplane, they need to be found and sealed off and are, somewhat fortunately, quite visible, appearing like gashes in the air or on the ground with unstable magic pouring out of it. One may even hear strange gurgling sounds, like something slowly moving underwater. Using strong magic, sealing spells or relics, or even attacking the cracks will close them up. There is a risk of falling through, so be careful. Fortunately, should one accidentally feel themselves being pulled in, it's a slow process and they may find themselves just stuck in the gap for a fair amount of time first, long enough for someone to help. They may even get pushed out by Cassiopea or a guardian if they happen to notice from within the Farplane.

However, these cracks and the corruptions of souls within the Farplane will continue so long as cultists performing blood rituals that use living sacrifices continue. Investigations have revealed that there has been a rise in the number of them, and while they do not know what purpose they have for all these rituals, it can be concluded that it needs to stop. The objectives for dealing with the cultists are straightforward:

🗺️ Find their secret locations. They could be on remote islands, in caves, or even in secret basements. Taking the form of spectral horses, the guardians will lead any willing to deal with the cultists to where the ghostly gatherings are found.

💥 Capture or kill the members. Capture is preferred for investigation, but no one will be faulted if they took a more vigilante route. Just don't let their blood spill onto an active ritual.

🕊️ Rescue any victims. They will use any kind of living body, be it person or animal. If too late, recover the body to bring peace to their soul…or risk their spirit corrupting.

🧟 Destroy summoned creatures. If a team arrives too late to stop a ritual, then the cultists are likely already dead, destroyed by the very thing they summoned. It could be a fiend, a monster, a demented soul—whatever it is, it will need to be destroyed. Some could try to purify it to let it return to the Farplane, but the ritual twists and corrupts the soul, so it may be difficult. Destroying it may be the more merciful route. Should one manage to purify it, bring the creature or soul to Samdre where it can be taken to the Farplane by Envoy Jades.

(note: players can find ritual circles made in blood, along with sacrificial displays involving the souls of both people and animals. On the edges of these ritual sights, black ooze can be found seeping up from the ground, as if tainted by the rituals)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Realm of the Living: Bedside Care

Dojima was not an especially superstitious man.

Even after everything he had dealt with in Inaba. Even after knowing all of it was true, he was not going to stop using pragmatic reasoning and scientific fact to figure shit out. Dealing with the spiritual and metaphysical was never going to be his strong suit.

And yet... something about intentionally going into what pretty much was the Land of the Dead made his hair stand on end. His grandma had told him plenty of stories to spook him about staying out past dark as a kid, getting spirited away by Yokai, but he was a grown man, damn it--

But Turo wanted to go. That... also made Dojima uneasy. He knew that Turo had a soul, but did this world believe that too? When he had nearly shut down beyond repair, when he had to use his own electric powers to revive him, what exactly did that mean? But-- Turo was a grown man, able to make his own decisions. He promised to come back if shit got bad.

--So to not be a useless sack of shit while Turo was off in the Farplane, you could find Dojima in the tents, keeping an eye on Turo and others, in case they were attacked or for when they woke up. After all, if Turo ticked past that 3 hours mark, Dojima was one of the only people who could handle his physiology to try and resuscitate him.

He would be a bit awkward for chatting if anyone stopped by, but wouldn't say no to company, and if you were one of the Farplane explorers who just woke up, you'd be getting some gruffly but concerned look man looking after you. Lucky you?

Realm of the Living: Washing Graves

Washing graves, huh?

Well. Wasn't like he didn't go every month or so to check on Chisato's, back home. It was something he could easily do, almost rote at this point, though he tried to not let it be. He'd already been there a while, sleeves rolled up, dipping his cloth in the water as he tired to scrub out the letters of the stone.

"--Don't really know what you'd want to hear from me."

Mumbled while frowning, pressing his finger into the crevasse to pull all that grime out. Talking to the graves, obviously.

"...Could tell you about the kids my nephew hangs out with. They're... a odd bunch."

Realm of the Living: Rescue any victims

Dojima wasn't above killing people, even if he deeply disliked it. He-- had done it before, unfortunately, when he was young, in a hostage situation, early in his career. He knew--believed it should absolutely be the last line you should cross, and he treated it that way.

--People like this, though... made that thought process... difficult. Standing around the concussed, unconcious and now metal wrapped cultists, Dojima knelt down infront of a sobbing little girl.

"--Hey, I got you. You're safe now."

She was young-- as young as his daughter, surely. Just a little kid--

He grabbed the cloak he had used to hide himself in getting here, and wrapped the sobbing girl up, swaddling her before pulling her into his arms to carry. Turning to whoever he was with, he'd toss them his shellphone.

"--Take some pictures of the ritual site, wouldja? I'm going to get her somewhere safe before investigating anymore."

He wasn't risking her getting hurt. Never again.

Manta Board: Sword in the Stone

"--What's all the fuss about?"

Dojima was standing by, watching people struggle with sword. Tilting his head as he listened, huh, before sighing, shifting to crack his knuckles a bit.

"Let me give it a try if it's causing problems."

With his metal elemental ability, he should be able to wiggle it out at least--

What say you when he takes hold of the sword ~~and is declared the King of England-- wait that was Forgotten Tales, wrong Game--~~

Do you distract him, encourage him, throw a tomato at him?

Manta Board: Steel Watchers

Hey, so, is that Dojima just being-- dragged around by a Steel golem? But By what?? There didn't seem to be any strings or rope connecting them...!

"For-- FUCK'S SAKES--!!"

Dojima growled, sweat on his brow, digging his heels in as he tried to get better control over the damn thing, but--

He yanked his hand back, and so too did the golem's arm, holding it back from smashing some poor farmer's wagon--! If he could just get closer, or have someone else distract it so he could get a better grip on it's limbs with his magic...!

Wildcard
[Feel free to hit me up ooc, and I will match post styles! I just tend to write prose easiest...]

Why did they follow Dojima again? They don't do hero work anymore.

Dammit. Fuckers had a kid. They already knew--could sense the undeveloped and fearful mind--but seeing human children is always a weird experience when they're this young. They keep their distance from Dojima.

"Might wanna get her checked for any weird magic ...stuff." Not supposed to swear around children. They made that mistake once: little shit they rescued in their Sidestep days kept delightedly shouting 'fuck!' in front of the cameras.

Cults are another thing they have experience with. They really hope she hasn't been fed some kind of boosted blood or something. Or that she wasn't possessed.

Now that was a scary thought. They reached out with their mind just to make sure she wasn't about to start stabbing Dojima.

"On it." Their mind is already listening and they pick up Dojima's intent to throw before he even does it. The phone is caught effortlessly, and they get to work taking pictures of anything they think might be useful. There's a pit surrounded by what looks to be some kind of magical runes, stained with dark fluids and filled with an overwhelming coppery scent. Fuck, were they draining their victims into this to use the blood for summonings?

"--Good idea. I have some silver on hand, but--"

Not something he wanted to have to use on a kid. Especially with how he could feel her shivering, hiccuping little sobs escaping his swaddled cloak. They would need to make sure either way nothing got into her or lingered in her.

Fortunately for both of them, all the little girl could think of was wanting to go home and the deep, deep terror she was filled with. Not good, but nothing that indicated she was manipulated mentally.

"--Thanks, Chris. Once you get pictures, we should see about destroying this whole... 'summoning circle' here. I'll back as soon as I can."

Nodding as they caught the phone, already taking pictures, suggesting things to look out for--

--Adachi could've learned from your work ethic, really.

That flash of memory-- a lanky, slightly disheveled japanese man, first with a sheepish, pathetic grin on his face-- And then... slightly wrong, slightly off. Like Dojima himself couldn't pick it out in the fog--

A shake of Dojima's head, and his attention refocused on the girl in his arms.

"--Its okay, it's okay, sweetie." Whispering to her softy, trying to rock her back and forth as he walked.

"You're safe now. Cry if you got to, but I promise I'll keep you safe--"

Daddy, Daddy, I'm scared--

A wince, that heart wrenching memory surfacing, Nanako's voice weakly calling out to him as she struggled to breath, before being--slotted to the side. Couldn't do anything about it now. Yeah, he was a failure of a father, but--

That didn't mean he should forgo his duty, he had to try.

"--We'll get you out of here... Okay?"

"I don't think she's posessed."

They resist the urge to retch at the heavy blood scent as they lean in to get good pictures of the sacrifice pit. There's a foulness to it that suggests it's never been properly cleaned, and they can see some leftover fluids from the last sacrifice in the bottom.

Lying in their own blood, the color and scent the only thing that stands out in the bright and sterile room...

They pull back from the pit, look over their shoulder at Dojima and the girl before they leave.

"Check if they gave her any drugs or potions to make her easier to kidnap." If the cultists drugged her, whether with magical or mundane methods, they're gonna wanna check if there's gonna be any lingering effects or damage.

They'll get back to work taking pictures and examining evidence, swearing under their breath as they go. Fucking hell.

"That's reassuring. Thanks for checking, Chris. And... sorry to dump this part on you."

--Was it just him, or was Chris ...trying to keep Dojima focused? They seemed to chime in just right in time to cut his more negative, emotional thoughts from growing out of control.

"Once she's calmed down I'll ask her, see if the medics can find anything out."

Push come to shove ( and there was a shove, pushing one of the cultists KO'd body out of the way... carefully so the kid didn't hear or see them wake up), he'd ask Turo or Emet for help.

Just-- keep talking to distract her, her sobbing quieting down but still making her form quiver all wrapped up like that.

"--My name is Ryotaro. I'm with the Paladins. I'll get you home to your parents as soon as possible..."

--Wait, didn't he have something with him that could--

He stopped near the entrance, reaching into his satchel and pulling out a cute pink doll, holding it out to the girl with a soft smile.

"Here-- She'll protect you, okay?" Tilting it a bit side to side, as if it was alive, to catch the girl's attention, before sliding it into the swaddled cloak for her to take or just... hold.

It would be a little while before Dojima returned. But when he did, his face took on that particular mix of hard determination when dealing with something that personally upset him.

"--Back. The kid is with the medics now, they'll figure out as much as they can about what was possibly used on her if anything."

Though, Dojima would sigh wearily, glancing back as other Paladins worked to drag off the incapacitated cultists.

"-- Makes me wish for blood toxicology tests, lemme tell you. I'll have to see if Sherlock, Emet or Turo have figured out something that can help with that."

Moving to stand near Chris, Dojima let his eyes scan over the ritual site, taking everything in. It was... vile. Something out of those over the top anime OVAs from when he was a young man at the police Academy back in the 80s--

"Anything that's caught your eye beyond the obvious so far?"

If they are, they aren't thinking about it. Saying stuff that comes to mind, possibly prompted by a need to calm the racing thoughts around them, possibly because their own mind is spinning its wheels, ready to go speeding off without any heed of the condition of the roads its traveling.

They go back to taking pictures as he works on calming the girl.

Fortunately, they can sense his mind approaching pretty easily, so he doesn't startle them when he comes back.

"Guess Sherlock would know about toxicology." They sway a little as they stand up from their examination of what appears to be ropes used to bind prisoners. It looks like whoever wore them struggled until they cut into their wrists.

"There's enough ...stuff here that I think they've been doing these sacrifices for a while. I didn't see any torture tools, at least." Not that people ever needed specific tools for that.

"They also didn't care about cleanliness." Not at the sacrifice site, clearly. Makes them wonder if there was another site they spent most of their time at, and here was just for prisoners and rituals involving prisoners.

Might make sense if they thought what they were doing could be dangerous.

"Yeah. And Turo's Iron Moth is a Poison Type, along with Grass Pokemon using various spores to put people to sleep or paralyse them, so he might have some knowledge? Pokemon Professors seem to have pretty expansive knowledge bases."

And then Emet was just... Emet. Eons of Knowledge sort of deal. Made sense that he'd be taking over as their captain now until Dongfang's... possible return.

But, that was neither here nor there.

He gave a 'mm' of acknowledgement to Chris as they described what they saw, reaching out as if to catch them if they swayed too much and started to fall, but not-- touching. Not unless necessary. He knew that Chris was sensitive about that kinda thing, unless it was punching someone.

"Long term use, not used for torture necessarily, more focused on blood sacrifice and lots of it, cleanliness not important..."

Even with all this blood... Chris still kept to it.

Remember when Adachi threw up on seeing Miyumi Yamano's body, and this guy is taking it all in stride...

...Why didn't I think that could be a shock response instead of him just being a rookie being weak in the knees? It was right in front of me--

"...These markings in the summoning circle."

Rubbing his chin about, as he knelt down outside of it. Careful not to disturb it yet.

"Turo and the rest-- when we were attacked by ... zombies, last year on the Ghoul's Moon, found a large tablet with markings on it in the ship that brought them here. Wonder if any of those would match these."

Just to give further proof of their connection, maybe able to read the spell they were invoking and find a counter spell?

Yeah, Pokémon Professors do seem to have pretty wide knowledge bases, considering that a guy who made a career studying wildlife also built both a time machine and a fully sapient android. Fuck. They didn't even know time machines were possible.

It's a better thing to think about than the other times they've seen blood like this. Of course, Dojima has to keep thinking about how they're handling it.

"I've seen worse than this." It's not a lie, unfortunately.

"If you show him a picture he'll probably know. Computers have basically perfect memory." Their own AI chip still holds the uploaded knowledge they were never trained to access.

Dojima really had to wonder sometimes just how many times smarter 'Tino was compared to him. It sometimes reminded him of dealing with Naoto Shirogane-- the image of the young 'Detective Prince' appearing in his mind, with that-- damn confident smile of his--hers. Too damn smart, he literally got so damn upset he drove himself into a drunken stupor, but--

...She could still be a brat, but his angst about her being called on his case when they were coming up dry had dulled over time with the realization she was just willing to follow conclusions to whatever ends they could be, and not let 'reality' or 'common sense' blind her. Not like him.

...What would she do in a world like this, he wondered.

"Mind handing me back the shellphone?"

Holding his hand out to Chris, though there was a clear look of sympathy on his face.

--They shouldn't have ever been put through all this shit. To see something worse than this?

"...Sorry you had to."

Edited 2024-11-29 19:53 (UTC)

Dojima thinks a lot about people from his home, they think. Always comparing them or examining their motives or reliving old memories.

Caught up in his thoughts, they can't help but snort bitterly at his apology. This doesn't even make the top ten.

There's valuable evidence on the shell phone, so instead of just, say, lobbing it at him they'll walk over and hand it to him.

Casting around for a better--if only questionably so--topic, they settle on "So who's that Adachi guy you keep comparing me to?"

Taking it with a thanks, he had been in the process of writing up a text to Turo to see if he was alright to look at some pictures of the summoning circle--

When Chris's question made him nearly drop the phone in shock--

"H-how--?!"

Staring at them, eyes wide--

Edited 2024-11-30 19:47 (UTC)

Which then faded as it clicked in place, a look of... annoyance and embarrassment on his face.

Right. Telepath.

"...Are you intentionally listening to my thoughts, or am I that 'loud' mentally? ...Whatever that means."

Maybe he could avoid answering that. He wasn't sure how Chris would take it--

And since it's Dojima he gets the real answer.

"I'm not trying to read your brain specifically but it seems stupid to try and block out the ability to sense other people and their motives right now."

Sort of like the difference between looking around someone's apartment when they leave stuff out and actively rummaging through their drawers. They don't often do the latter because it's unnecessary and people sometimes catch them.

Does he really want them to put a blindfold on an ability that might let them sense if say, there are more cultists that weren't here during the bust and now they're coming to get revenge on both of them? Or if someone is posessed? Just for a little privacy?

"You care a lot about other people so those thoughts sit right on the surface." And Chris cares about other people's thoughts and intentions regarding them so they pick up on those more quickly and easily.

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Emet-Selch watches with a puzzled look on his face as Dojima is dragged about by the golem. He's not entirely sure what's going on. Is it puppetry? He can't see any kind of equipment or symbols indicating that though.

He eventually steps in as the golem's arm dangerously nears that farmer's wagon, reaching up to touch its fist. A simple, invisible pulse of aether is enough to disrupt the internal circuits and briefly give the other man some control back. It would last for a minute perhaps. Enough time for a breather.

"What are you doing?" he asks, turning to frown at Dojima.

Wait, huh? What was Emet---?!

Oh. Huh. Watching him just shut down the golem like it was nothing, causing Dojima to nearly fall backwad once he was no longer a prisoner to the Golem's forward pull. But, he managed to right himself, staring a second--

Well, he did have magic, Dojima knew that. But it was like breathing to him, wasn't it-

--Damn it, no time to waste--! Dojima moved, scrambling to put both his hands on those fists, and hold them down-- Emet maybe able to feel better now that direct magic, focused on the metal itself.

"Explain later-- the switch is on the back, turn it off before it starts up again! It's going haywire..!"

Edited 2024-11-30 19:50 (UTC)

"Ah."

That doesn't necessarily explain the odd behaviour, but a rogue machine is something they cannot have. He levitates upwards and drifts around to frown at the golem's back. Even after he finds the panel protecting the controls, he finds several switches beneath it. And unlike a world which has had technology and the time to standardise symbols, there is not much by way of hints here.

"Which one is it?" Time is ticking down. The golem starts to twitch and jerk.

"There should be one painted red--"

--Except it was clear whoever painted the switches used terrible quality paint that did not stick, causing all four of the larger switches to have some quantity of 'red' on them.

Dojima felt that pull of the machine trying to move, grunting as he pulled back with his magic, yanking it down, causing the construct to groan in the pressure. Fuck, at this rate, he might need to actually try to preform a judo pin on this damn golem--

"I have no idea what the other switches do--"

Well, time is running out and so Emet-Selch flicks the switch that seems the most red (but also blue and orange...).

The golem pauses, as if thinking. Emet-Selch slowly, warily drifts back.

And then, shaking off the disruption to its circuits, the golem laboriously tries to turn around (with Dojima still fighting for control) and starts spinning its upper half around like a top.

"Clearly not that one," Emet-Selch sighs. "What is even the purpose of that?"

[While Futaba had been in a separate area of the graveyard, she'd finished a section and was making her way to a new area when she spotted Dojima. Ah, he was the one who she got caught in the coffin with... well, she can be In Proximity to him, no problem there, listen to him chatting with the coffins, you know. The usual.

Considering she's so quiet, hearing him chatting is actually kind of soothing in a way? So she'll begin working on the next set of gravestones. What will she hear, she wonders?]

[He absolutely doesn't pick up on anyone else being there, because despite himself, he seems to have actually gotten into his story-- or, uh... was it a rant?]

--So it was one thing for my nephew to make friends with Chie Satonaka. Just an average girl with an near obsessive love of kung fu movies and chasing down bullies. Yosuke Hanamura was another city kid with the unfortunate situation of being the son of the manager of Junes, which had caused a bunch of local shops to close-- made sense he'd gravitate towards a fellow city kid who could understand what it felt like to be a fish out of water.

[Scrub scrub scrub, really putting elbow grease into this--]

And then Yukiko Amagi, heiress to the Amagi Inn, which was one of the centers of investigation for the murder case. Little odd, considering how reserved she acted, but, she and Satonaka were connected at the hip, so one followed the other, I guessed at the time. But then Kanji Tatsumi-- the local delinquent, literally beating up biker gangs to make sure his mom could sleep at night--Souji managed to actually get him to behave and calm down. That was...odd, especially since like Amagi, they both went missing for a time.

[Pulling back a second to wet his cloth, twisting it to get the water out--]

--It starts getting ridiculous. Rise Kujikawa. Famous teen idol, takes a 'break' in Inaba. We warn her about the rumours, she goes missing, then shows up again and is practically clinging to my nephew, looking for all the world in love with the kid. Along with this... European guy, Teddie. Blond hair, blue eyes, slim build. I'm fairly certain, especially now, that he wasn't actually human, but... as odd as he was, he didn't mean any harm. [He actually had a feeling for some reason the kid had helped him more than he could believe... But he couldn't explain that, even in this world]

--And then, Naoto Shirogane, the 'Detective Prince'. [Oh, that's a long suffering groan,] Comes to Inaba to 'help' with this double murder case I'm working on, literally still in 'his' teens. I swear, when 'he' showed up I drank myself into a stupor I swore I was going to knock off doing. He did help, and-- I realised over time he was compensating for something, but he did actually give a shit about the case. Was... actually damn smart. So I did ask Souji to keep an eye out for him when he transferred to Yasogami High. Only for him to go missing too, coming back, and finding out 'he' was a 'she' all along. Damn well explains the chip on her shoulder, at least...

[Grumble... pausing in his scrubbing a moment, staring at the carved letters in stone, before pressing his finger into it--]

--So all that is going on with my nephew, who has only been in Inaba a few months sticking their nose into the murder case... Getting this weird band of merry men to hang out at my house with my kid... And that doesn't even touch the Persona shit.

[Seems like he was definitely venting...]

Edited 2024-12-11 12:27 (UTC)

[Ohhh he'd been telling her about Inaba before, so this was like getting a front row seat to some info on that place.

Uh huh... kung-fu girl, a kid like Ren... sounds like her own life in Yongen-jaya. Rich girl whose family owned a wholeass hotel?? Damn. Kanji... sounded like Ryuji, but more badass (sorry, Ryuji). Souji sounded like he was probably like Ren, the ringleader of everyone. Neat.

—?! Rise?! Holy shit, cop dad knew Rise?! Futaba had seen her in ads in Shibuya, he knew her?! She'd have to ask him about this when she had a chance because that was impressive! Naoto sounded like Akechi, but... not like Akechi. Someone who wasn't a dick, maybe, because maaaaan.

But that wasn't the only surprise that Dojima had for her, as she was making a mental note about asking him a lot of questions, when she heard a word she was intimately familiar with. She sat up much more straight and leaned in to yell.]

Wait, Persona?! You know what Personas are?!

GAH--?!

[Oh dang, Futaba, you actually managed to catch him off guard, dropping the bucket he'd just picked up to move out of the way, splashing himself in the process--]

Geez, Futaba-chan, don't sneak up on people like--

[His heart was pounding, and he caught the voice of who startled him before what she said, turning to look at her--]

Edited 2024-12-20 13:43 (UTC)

[Record Scratch-]

--Wait, what? You know what that-- you know what a Persona is?

[Ooooh no no no, don't tell him this poor kid got pulled into that bullshit too...! That was just an Inaba thing, wasn't it? She's from Tokyo...!]

[WOAH that was... unexpected in response!! Futaba jumps back when Dojima jumps, but—]

Uh, w-well...

[...you know, it'd just be easier if]

Al Azif!

[In a (literal) flash, there's a triangular UFO floating over her head, though she hasn't hopped in yet.]

Yeah, I-I guess so!

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INTO THE FARPLANE

FARPLANE: DARK SIDE

REALM OF THE LIVING

Ryotaro Dojima | Persona 4 Golden | Paladin

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gravestones, belatedly

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