Story

SPOILER ALERT

This page is meant to be a record of plot-related events. Please do not file (SL) threads under this page.


 * For ease of reading, Midnight Channel showings will be listed under the day before. When in doubt, use the date given in the post. (e.g. The Midnight Channel occurs at 0000 hours on the morning of 13th April. It should be filed as 12th April.)

Current Rules
As the story progresses, new rules in the universe will become defined. Below is a list of rules that is currently in place.


 * The TV at Junes is currently guarded by security, who is at full alert. No entry can be made via this TV under any circumstances.


 * Entrances to the TV world need to be made via TVs on the outside but within Inaba. (Contact a mod if you wish to make an entry via this method.)


 * The safety of entering via this method is not guaranteed. An exit via the same TV is also not guaranteed. (The actual happenings inside that specific trip will be dictated by the mods.

April

 * 11 - First Day of School


 * 12 - First Midnight Channel Appearance
 * "Suddenly, an image appears on the screen! There's a ton of static, and the image is incredibly blurry, but people can definitely make out the figure of a male student, somewhat short. His clothes and hair appear to be drenched, but the hair is somewhat longer than most student's, and reasonably messy. His face is only somewhat visible, but it seems incredibly distressed."


 * 13 - Midnight Channel Appearance - Kazuo Takahashi
 * "As the clock strikes midnight, the broadcast starts, and an image appears on the screen. It begins fairly blurry, with plenty of static, just like last time, but the image sharpens up as the program goes on. The uniform is definitely a Yasogami High uniform. What's more, it and its wearer are completely drenched. The uniform itself doesn't seem to fit the boy particularly well, and it looks awkward on him as the camera pans his legs as he sprints away. "Stop it! No! Not again! Please, no!" The shrieking voice sounds familiar to many of the viewers. As the camera pans up the boy's body, it rests on his characteristically narrow shoulders. The boy throws off the jacket in order to shed some weight, and everyone sees his scrawny arms as well. Finally, the camera rests on his face. The boy is Kazuo Takahashi. A look of pure torture is on his face. He continues sprinting, a mixture of tears and rain streaming down his face. His mouth contorts into a grotesque shape as he keeps screaming. "No!! Stop it! What did I do?? Ahh!"


 * 16 - Kazuo Takahashi reported to have returned home.
 * "...Takahashi, who went missing on the night of the 13th, was found late this evening in the South Shopping District, severely disoriented, claiming that he had come from Junes, and was going home. Takahashi claimed to have no memory of what transpired between his disappearance and when he was found, though authorities say that foul play is suspected. The Takahashi family has declined to comment, merely saying that they wish to be left alone, and that they'd like to put this incident behind them. Kazuo Takahashi himself is currently in the care of his family, under police surveillance, and plans to return to his classes at local high school Yasogami High within a few days."


 * 19 - Kazuo Takahashi shown dead on the Midnight Channel.
 * "The broadcast started, it was nothing but static for a few seconds before it cleared and something started to form on the screen... A tank, a glass tank, there was a large glass tank sitting in the middle of a large room, it looked like there was someone sitting inside, the camera cut to the person inside, panning up. The person looked to be a male in a Yasogami High uniform, it looked untidy and he looked a complete mess, he looked rather scrawny and had narrow looking shoulders, it panned up to his face to show his rough, shaggy hair. The boy was Kazuo Takahashi. The camera cut back to the shot of the tank, it started slowly panning around it, showing the entire tank, it kept on panning around the tank, picking up speed until it looked distorted then... it stopped, showing a front view of the boy.The tank jolted and a lid covered the top, Kazuo looked up before looking at the camera. The tank jolted once more and the bottom of the tank started becoming opaque and disproportionate to the rest of the tank, it started to rise, the tank was filling up with water. The water rose at a rapid rate, after a couple of seconds half of Kazuo's body was drenched in water, it kept flowing, up and up, soon enough Kazuo was submerged in water and there was not a single bit of air in the tank, he looked like he was struggling for air, he thrashed around the tank, trying to break free, but nothing happened. After a minutes of this, Kazuo stopped, he just stopped, he floated there, not moving, lifeless... Nothing else happened, the TV went blank."


 * 20 - Kazuo Takahashi is found dead in Inaba.
 * "...and welcome back to your morning pick-me-up with Channel 5. Today marks the sad conclusion of a tale that began only a few short days ago. Kazuo Takahashi, the high schooler who had disappeared for a few days, has been found dead by local police. His body, hanging upside down atop of one of the gazebos on the Samegawa Floodplain, was first found by a morning jogger, who immediately alerted the police. Investigation in this crime is expected to begin immediately, though the police say that they have no concrete leads as of yet."


 * 21 - Multiple events - Daisuke, Melody & Jynn.
 * First group of people to encounter the TV world inside a TV set at Junes.
 * "Jynn stares at the screen. "What the hell? I don't think those are supposed to turn on... And what are you doing? Don't touch the screen, that might ruin it." As Daisuke's fingers brush the screen, it ripples like water. An eruption of light blasts from the screen, temporarily blinding the trio. They shake their heads and their vision slowly returns. They stand on a stage surrounded by lights and cameras." 
 * First Shadow Encounter - Shadow Daisuke
 * First Persona Awakening - Daisuke - Ares
 * "The Shadow begins to pulse lightly then disappears. A shattering resounds in the room and Ares appears floating in the air above Daisuke. Another shattering sound, and Ares is replaced with a card that slowly lowers until it is in front of Daisuke."
 * Shadow Encounter - Shadow Jynn
 * Persona Awakening - Jynn - Janus
 * "The Shadow form of Jynn smiles slightly, then shatters. The Death Arcana card slowly floats down in front Jynn."
 * Shadow Encounter - Shadow Melody
 * Persona Awakening -  Melody - Parvati
 * 24 - Multiple events - Yuri,  Hayate,  Mathias, Daisuke
 * Second group to enter the TV world.
 * Daisuke reaches out to the TV, touching the surface of the screen. As he does, the screen turns white, and ripples form across the surface. Dai remember what happened before, and as the ripples grow bigger, a blinding flash of white light engulfs the vision of the four. When it returns, they are standing on a platform similar to a soundstage.
 * Shadow Encounter - Shadow(s) Yuri
 * Persona Awakening- Yuri - Tomoe
 * ...smirks at the group before becoming a Tarot Card, the card of the Strength Arcana. The card floats into Yuri's hand and she blinks a few times."...Tomoe."
 * Shadow Encounter - Shadow Mathias
 * Persona Awakening - Mathias - Charon
 * "I am Charon, the guide of souls. Let me lead you through the Styx so you may find Elysium."   Says the figure as it morphs into a card and descends into Mathias' open palm.
 * Shadow Encounter - Shadow Hayate
 * Persona Awakening - Hayate - Norn
 * "Norn fades away and becomes a fortune arcana card. The Card slowly spins around and floats above Hayate's hand before fading into him. "Norn..."
 * 25 - Multiple events
 * Information about the TV world has been published anonymously.
 * "Tell me..have you ever seen your TV as a portal? No, I don't mean a portal into the lives of celebrities. What I mean is...truly, a portal into another dimension! A few enterprising people have discovered something very, very, very strange about the TVs in the town of Inaba: Another world, only capable of being experienced by a select few! The world is a desolate place, filled with monsters and an ever-present fog. And no, I'm not referring to your mother-in-law and the drunken haze you put yourself in to escape her! Who knows, maybe you will be the next lucky-or is that unlucky-one to experience this first hand!"
 * Group enters the TV world: Mei, Akari, Noboru, Hayate.
 * 28 - Midnight Channel Appearance
 * "The TV's of all viewers flickered to life in a obfuscating haze of static and haze. The image was unfocused but the image presented could be identified as female. Long slightly frizzy hair draped down her shoulders and seemed to be quite short as well as adorned in a light summer dress. She appears to be cowering but by the end of the broadcast stands up."
 * 29 - Midnight Channel Appearance - Meigetsu Otori
 * "An image comes on. It's much sharper, much better quality, practically HD. The scratchiness of the sound is gone, now coming through crystal clear. "Thank you everyone, for tuning in!" The voice is undeniably Mei's. But it's infused with a mature confidence, unlike her typical one. On the screen, it shows what looks to be Mei, wearing a rather beautiful summer dress, blue and green. She sits sideways in a high-backed chair, leaning against one armrest, and her legs hanging off the other. The bottom of the dress has slid up slightly, showing off a bit more thigh than necessary. Her reddish-auburn hair is now lustrous and longer. The room Mei..or at least, this figure who strongly resembles her is in is illuminated by a variety of computer screens, some showcasing blog posts, and others her face. "Pandora here, bringing you an  on-site  report! Eyes on me folks, because who knows what we'll find? Adventure? Death? Romance?" Mei? laughs. "Come and find me, if you can...first one here gets a kiss from yours truly! Ah, what a riveting adventure!" She giggles, and the chair swivels around to face away from the camera, and the broadcast comes to an end. The Midnight Channel turns off, and the TVs are blank."
 * 30 - Multiple events
 * Meigetsu reported missing.
 * "And on a more sadder note, news has just hit that another child of Inaba has disappeared, 15 year old Meigetsu Otori was reported missing early this morning when there was no sign of her in her house earlier today, after a search of the surrounding area, police was unable to find any trace on where she has gone, we here at Channel 5 extend out our prayers to her family and hope she is found soon..."
 * Investigation efforts continue - Daisuke and Kiyoshi
 * "Kiyo takes the plastic bag again, and pinches the piece of paper. It drops into the bag along with with the knife. "Someone around here is about to be in some serious shit.""

May

 * 1 - Rescue Efforts Begin
 * Team 1 - Saiga, Shirou, Yuri, Hayate, Melody
 * Persona Awakening - Saiga
 * "They both smile slightly and helped each other up, dissipating into Saiga's persona, Ippon Datara."
 * Persona Awakening - Shirou
 * Team 2 - Jynn, Mila, Nobo, Taka
 * Persona Awakening - Takanori
 * "The shadow grins, it's a grin of a kid who just made someone he respected happy. He disappears and leaves a floating card where he was standing. The card has a picture of a chariot on it."
 * Persona Awakening - Noboru
 * The shadow nodded, and disappeared. A card appeared in front of Noboru's face, that of the Judgement Arcana. And then it disappeared and a voice spoke out."I am Osiris, the merciful judge of the dead. I will walk with you on your path to completeness. May your light shine forevermore, no matter the darkness..."
 * 2 - Rescue Efforts Continue - Mei, Melody, Daisuke, Noboru, Jynn Scanner - Shirou
 * Persona Awakening - Meigetsu
 * "Her shadow is wreathed in blue flame, and begins to change form. "I am Pandora." A young woman, seated on her knees, clothed in flowing green robes. She carries a wooden box in her lap, but the entire part of her robes beneath it is stained a deathly black. "A fool who unleashed evil upon the world. I will be remembered, and I will be scorned." She disappears, and a card with the Magician Tarot floats down. Mei simply falls to her knees."
 * Mei Rescued


 * 8 - Multiple Events
 * Persona Awakening- Kobo
 * Otake kneels down and extends a hand to his Shadow. "Get up, ya asshole."  After getting up, the Shadow melted into a blue light, releasing nothing but a card of the Hanged Man Arcana.
 * Persona Awakening - Nero
 * "With these words, the card finishes forming, then shatters, leaving Thanatos standing before them, roaring before he disappears. Nero stares at where Thanatos was." 
 * Midnight Channel Appearance
 * "The Midnight Channel buzzes to life. Though there was no broadcast the previous night, several people are still watching. A figure appears, though the image is, unsurprisingly, really blurry. The camera is close to the figure, giving no one a sense of perspective for their height. The camera pans up, fixing on the figure's reasonably broad shoulders. It never gives anyone a glimpse of the head. Finally, it pans down to the feet. The figure does not appear to be wearing a school uniform, and therefore, there's no obvious giveaway whether the figure is male or female. Then, the program ends."
 * 9 - Midnight Channel Appearance - Sun
 * "The locale seems to be a musty comedy club of sorts. Shadowy silhouettes fill the audience, and brightly-colored bottles of alcohol adorn each table. A red curtain rises, and applause comes out of nowhere. The figure behind the curtain is Sun Moon. She walks up to the microphone, wearing short jean cut-offs and an unbuttoned white shirt, with a lacy black bra showing. She blinks slowly, looking at the audience laconically. She smokes a cigar. "Hey, everyone, nice of you all to join me tonight on my big comedy debut. I'm Sun Moon."She blows out a large puff of smoke.So are there any smokers in the room?" More applause. "Hah! Great. Not only do you get to die young, but you get to smell like an ashtray the whole damn time. Pat yourself on the back for your life choices."She takes another puff as the audience laughs again. Someone seems to mutter something at her. "Me? I smoke because fuck you. That's why I smoke. Get outta here, you're all human garbage anyway." Her tone is weirdly cheerful, but still packs a lot of animosity. She seems to feed off of the shadow audience's enthusiasm. "Don't worry, I'll be back after a couple of openers. I just wanted to get a quick glimpse at all you assholes watching me before the show gets started. Hopefully, things'll get real interesting. Well, I'll see you all in hell." Sun strolls off the stage, tossing her cigar on the ground. The broadcast ends." 
 * 20 -  Multiple Events
 * Persona Awakening - Misa
 * The body of the shadow begins to glow and shine white, her clothing becomes undone and falls to the ground, the overpowering light shines brighter as it is no longer a shadow. The figure wraps her arms around with Misa for one last embrace before the light disappears and a tarot card appears, floating down into Misa's two cupped hands. "I'll make sure to be a girl, for your sake".
 * Persona Awakening - Makoto
 * "Now, let's play the questions game, let's see if you paid attention... how would this boy feel about these kidnappings... no, these murders?" The shadow laughs maniacally." Nobody? Can't someone tell me?" Makoto steps towards the Shadow and raises his head. Glad. Sometimes I'm glad that this happened, that these kidnappings... no, these murders are happening. Sometimes I feel like without this case I would still be all alone, lost without anything to do with my life... of course that's not all I think, but I can't deny it. You and I are the same person... You are me." The shadow smiles and transforms into Neko Shogun before disappearing, leaving the Star Arcana card behind. "The Star... a beacon of hope..." Makoto turns around to talk to the group. "Was that... a cat in armor? Anyways, thanks... for staying with me." Makoto takes a step forward but falls to his knees. 
 * Rescue Attempt Successful - Ji-woo


 * "My real face..." Sun looks at Sun's Shadow. "Maybe you're right...? Was I just imagining that they hated me? My mom and I still cook dinners together...Dad still helps me with my extracurricular projects. We all still go to the movies every Saturday..." She sniffles a little bit." Was it that Sun wanted to be rebellious and distant so badly that she pushed everyone away from her?" Sun's shadow glances at her meekly.  "Does it matter? You don't have to be Sun anymore. You never wanted to be in the first place." Sun nods." No...you're right. I can retire that forever. There are...parts of Sun that are important to me. And I guess at the end of it all, it's just a name, but...no, it's not just a name. My name is part of who I am. I'm glad that this happened...I don't have to be Sun Moon ever again." Sun's shadow nods. Suddenly, a flash of light erupts from her, and when it subsides, a faceless blue figure adorned with a starry cloak kneels before her.  I am Daebyeol, the Great Star, ruler of the Underworld.  Daebyeol vanishes. In its place the Hierophant card floats above her palm. Sun seems amazed. 


 * 23 -  A Junes security guard confronts a small group of Persona users. - Junes TV Entrance is now restricted.
 * "At that moment, a security guard walks up to the group. He wears a grey hat."Okay now, we're closing down, so...!!" He seems to notice much of the group." Hey now...you're the ones who're always hanging around the electronics department." His expression grows more serious. "I really don't trust you kids, and I've already told the other security guards to watch out for a bunch of kids just loitering in the department. Whatever it is you're up to, you're not going to get away with it anymore."  He stares at each member individually, then walks away. Ji-woo looks at the rest of the group. "So...you go in there pretty often, huh?"
 * 28 - Ji-Woo and Misa go to the police. - There is now police involvment with the TV world.
 * "I guess now I have to do my part to give back. I have a few ideas about where to start, if it comes to it...but first..."  They arrive in front of the police station. "We may as well give this a shot."

June

 * 7 - Midnight Channel Appearance
 * "The clouds continue to dump their watery loads on the homes of Inaba. The people inside these houses wait in eager anticipation for the Midnight Channel to come on. The TV screen comes to life. Despite the swath of static, it is possible to make out a rough figure of a male, slightly shorter than the average. If one squints and focuses hard enough, it is possible to make out the tight-fitting suit that the person is wearing. However, that is all that is distinguishing about the figure. The static begins to multiply and cover up the image. The TV shuts off."


 * 16 - Midnight Channel Appearance -
 * "The image is clearer than it was at the previous showing but the critical features are still unfocused. It is still difficult to make out the features of the head, but there seems to be a pair of swimming goggles strapped on top of the male’s head of brown hair. The tight suit from the previous showing can now be identified as a swimming suit. The Midnight Channel stops airing and the image blanks out."


 * 17 - Midnight Channel Appearance - Kiyoshi Yamasaka


 * 21 - Multiple Awakenings
 * Persona Awakening - Harou
 * The shadow looks into Harou's eyes, before summoning a smile itself. Blue light slowly glows from its uniform, before it envelopes it entirely. Piece by piece, the light flows up into the sky, before it reshapes itself. It fades momentarily to reveal a large figure, a blacksmith, wearing only an apron and overalls to cover its body, and a wielding mask to covers its face. It wields a glowing hammer confidently. The figure disappears, in its place, a small card spins down to Harou's eye level. Harou touches the card, and it disappears. "Hephaestus, eh? Nice to meet you."
 * Persona Awakening - Kin
 * Kin is now looking up, staring at the Shadow head on. "You're right. I don't choose for myself. I'm miserable this way." The Shadows nods. "But I'm going to start choosing for myself! So, maybe I can change and live life how I want, so I'm happy, really happy!" The Shadow smiles, this time softly. A blue glow surrounds it as it lifts towards the sky, fading out as a new figure appears over Kin, a skinny man with red eyes and pale blue skin, the man's black hair falls down his back and over his softly beating wings. He smiles down at Kin, a silver amulet entwined in one hand, the other hand pressed against his chest and gray robes. He fades out, and the Star falls softly downward, into Kin's waiting palm.


 * 24 - Kiyoshi Rescued
 * Persona Awakening - Kiyoshi
 * "He combs the hair off his Shadow's forehead. The Shadow reaches with over to Kiyoshi's hand that was resting on his lap. For the first time in months, Kiyoshi is able to summon a relieved smile. The Shadow pulls a smile with its last efforts and glows warmly. Dot by dot, the Shadow dissipates in the light and the aura reforms over Kiyo’s head. As he looks up, he sees a figure cast in black robes, with deep red coating the edge of the suit. As Kiyoshi angles his eyes up further, he sees a white book and behind it, a pair of yellow eyes looking at him through a red mask that is split in the middle. Kiyoshi almost falls over at how intimidating that image is. And what did it say it's name was? Yan? As in 阎罗王? First Judge of Hell? "A judge, huh? Been doing that a lot lately." Kiyoshi sighs. A Persona, if he remembers his father's textbooks correctly, is a mask for how a person interacts with others. How appropriate. He had been pretty nasty to almost everyone lately.The figure fades and shrinks down into a card. It spins as it descends down to eye-level. He closes his eyes and feels the card disperse into him. Kiyoshi stands up and faces the rescue team."