entrancelogs | + FOURTH WALL EVENT: GENERAL NON-PARTY MINGLE POST +

Entry tags:

+ FOURTH WALL EVENT: GENERAL NON-PARTY MINGLE POST +

Who: E V E R Y O N E
Where: Everywhere that isn't one of the parties! Both Sides!
When: Sept 1st to Sept 10th
Rating: G to PG-13 (please label higher ratings, thank you!)
Summary: Wonderful parties are springing up all across Wonderland, but there are still plenty of other places to explore. This is a log for any new arrivals who want to experience different parts of Wonderland life, and any current guests not in the mood for a log or transmission of their own.

Please also see THE FOURTH WALL MASTER POST for rules, information, and all the fun parties you can visit!
The Story:

On the morning of September 1st, everyone in Wonderland, on both Real and Mirror Side, will awake to find one of four possible invitations has been shoved under their doors. The glass has been carefully removed from all mirrors, and everyone will be able to cross to and from Mirror Side with ease, without forcing any sort of swap. The Queen of Hearts' chambers, discovered in the previous event, will be mysteriously inaccessible, leading only to a tearoom.

Additionally, there will be many more Wonderland guests than usual, each of them with their own random invitation and network device (wired to make replies only). As the week goes on, as per the invitations, more and more parties will appear (and everyone is invited to all of them, whether they received an invitation or not). But who brought them here? Why are there so many parties? Who is responsible for all of this exactly?

It's anyone's guess, though if parties or riddles are not your style, then there is always plenty more to see...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The knife is the only thing that indicates to Souji that this is probably not the real Frisk. His own Mirror likes knives a little too much, so it makes him wary. But that also doesn't mean they're a Mirror--with so many new (visiting?) people around, this might just be another version who, for whatever reason, feels it necessary to carry a knife.

He has a hunch that that's wishful thinking, but that doesn't mean he doesn't call out when he sees this Frisk down a hallway.]

Frisk?

[He draws closer, curiosity winning out over caution.]

Are you worried about something? [He indicates the knife. Let's get that obvious, strange addition out of the way first.]

[Oh hey, Souji! He's a friendly one towards Frisk, isn't he? Yes, he seems to enjoy their company and they, being an idiotic, too-trusting sap, enjoy his.

What does this mean? Why, it means it's a prime opportunity for relationship sabotage!

Frisk glances at him innocently, Dagger swinging uselessly at their side as they debate the best plan of attack.]

Oh no. No, not at all! I just realized how silly I was, walking around without any protection at a time like this. This place is full of new people, haven't you realized?

Yeah, it happens every couple of years.

[Souji doesn't typically expect hostility from strangers, but he does have pseudo magical powers that he can use if things due go bad. Frisk, as far as he knows, doesn't seem to have that, so a weapon makes sense.]

Why don't you conceal it? Carrying it in the open might give the wrong impression.

The wrong impression?

[They smile, sharp and abrupt, a feral flash of teeth, as they begin to circle him the same way a predator would its chosen prey, a slow, deliberate creep. No need to pretend, they think. Might as well nip those impressions in the bud!]

Don't you mean the right one?

[* Progress SAVED.]

[Well, that shift makes the situation pretty clear. Souji's eyes track the mirror as they circle him.]

In this case, yes.

[He isn't carrying a weapon, but he has his Personas. He told Frisk about those, but that doesn't mean that this mirror knows about them. He'd prefer not to use them, though, if he can help it, and so he doesn't make a move that would indicate he's equipped or prepared to fight.]

What is it you're intending to do with it?

[It's pretty obvious, really.]

[They shrug fluidly, careless, knowing they have the advantage of infinite tries. Theoretically, anyway. Something always seems to get in the way.]

Oh, a little bit of this. A little bit of that.

[They flash toward him with no warning whatsoever, bringing the blade up sharply with the intent to spear him between the ribs.]

If you get the point, that is.

[Souji has good reflexes, but only manages to move enough for the blade not to hit anything vital. Rather than sliding between his ribs, it grazes off of one of them, sliding along it and ripping open a deep laceration along his side.

Before the pain sets in, Souji manages to get some distance between them. Then it hits him he falters, one hand at the injury on the other side of the body.]

...Are you doing this because of Frisk? [His voice is low as he tries not to let it waver.] Or do you just like causing pain?

[There's the satisfying give and tug of the blade cutting through flesh (perfect for cutting vines, sure, but that's not where its usefulness stops), and even if it's not quite what they intended, it's certainly something.

And then, crimson. Ah, yes. They forgot that humans, unlike monsters, bleed.

They SAVE again. Any advantage is worth seizing.]

My reasons are very simple.

[They swing the blade again, a horizontal, coordinated arc tearing through air density and air friction and aiming to keep him on his toes.]

One, you are in my way.

Two, I'm certain you're worth some measure of EXP. I'm curious as to how much.

[Souji backsteps, but his face remains serious, unalarmed (though some pain leaks through as he moves and the skin along his injury stretches and shifts). This Mirror seems very much like his own, from what he's heard.]

In your way? How?

[He's preparing for the moment when he needs to summon a Persona to either defend himself or attack. The issue is shuffling them in his mind, listening to them whisper at him, and selecting the best one for the situation. That is intuitive for the most part, but he's hesitating in this case. If he had a weapon, he thinks he could probably do something about this without resorting to "magic."]

Well, you see, Frisk has this problem.

[Their eyes flick up and down as they appraise him, calculating the best angle of attack.]

They think you're very nice. They like you. They might even trust you. You hold them back, try to walk them through their touchy-feely crap.

[They lunge again, bringing the Dagger upwards in a swift vertical arc.]

That is something I cannot abide.

[Souji was prepared to respond to those words, but at the fist hint of motion on their part, he reaches out and summons Sraosha, who drops an attack on the Mirror in the same moment. Brave Blade is one of Souji's strongest attacks, but these things don't necessarily work the way they do at home; they don't even always work out consistently in Wonderland.

With his arm raised to summon, he's left himself wide open to the knife attack and his own strike sapped a not insignificant chunk of his energy (leaving him at 429/550 HP, but who's counting?). It slows him down a bit, and the Mirror's knife slashes up the side of his torso, through his shirt and deeper into his skin than can possibly be healthy.

Hoping that his attack bought him some time, Souji summons again, calling on Norn this time to heal him. Both of his injuries begin to close up. The bleeding stops, leaving behind weak layers of skin knitted together.]

[Oh, that's right. They'd forgotten his little tricks.

Frisk twists to dodge the attack and their strike doesn't do quite as much damage as they'd like. And what's more, dropping and rolling to evade the strike doesn't work out either. Something slashes over their shoulder and leaves a long, streamlined cut, hot and sticky red pouring down over one arm.

Their left one, at least.

Their eyes narrow at whatever he does next, and then their teeth bare in frustration when they realize that - yes, he's actually healing himself!

Unacceptable.

They slash for the shape that he's manifested, hoping that will disrupt it, maybe prevent it from healing him completely.]

[The knife goes through Norn like it might a hologram, and she fades a few seconds later regardless.

Souji's taken a couple steps back by then and is watching the Mirror closely. He's trying to catch his breath--the last vestige of the pain that was just taken from him--but he finds his voice still.]

Why do you care so much what Frisk does?

[Damn it.

They glower as the thing dissipates, their blade passing through it harmlessly. A wasted maneuver. Well. They could always...no. This is still interesting, and they have not yet lost the advantage.]

Why do you think? This is what I was Made for. What we're all Made for!

For teaching your other selves to be more like you?

[That had definitely not been Souji's experience with his own Mirror or the Mirrors of his closer friends. But they're not all the same by any means. As dangerous as this situation has gotten, he can't help being curious.]

To show everyone how truly irredeemable they are.

[They grind the words out between clenched teeth, their gaze hard and dark and locked.]

To prove that Frisk isn't the perfect, innocent angel everyone seems to think they are.

No one's like that.

[He's honestly never seen evidence to the contrary with Frisk, but anyone that close to Chara has to have some side of their self that isn't completely innocent or perfect. Souji can relate--he inherited that corrupted Izanagi from Adachi after all. He had part of Adachi's psychopathy in him somewhere.]

I think all this [he gestures between the two of them, his hand ending the motion by indicating the knife] only shows that you aren't like that, though.

[Briefly, they let their eyes dart over him appraisingly. There is no voice reminding them to ACT, and that's fine they don't need help, but there are times when ACTing is - appropriate.

So.

* Check.
* Seta Souji.

And that's when their expression shifts warily. Over five hundred HP. What kind of world even requires that upper limit? Not even LV 20 gives someone a pool that obnoxiously high!]

Oh please. I am an inevitability as far as they're concerned.

You're a possibility.

[But there isn't that much that's inevitable as far as Souji is concerned. Choice plays too big a role in life for things like that to be a given.]

It's a little arrogant to think otherwise, isn't it?

Oh no. I've already happened.

[Perhaps they're a little more aware of their own status, but the exact variables that align to make them happen? That's already happened!]

I have already happened, and I will happen again. I am the only version of us that makes it out without being up shattered in the process.

[It strikes Souji, once again, that he really doesn't know a whole lot about Frisk's world. It makes him feel almost guilty.]

And you're making that apparent by attacking Frisk's friends.

[It isn't a question. It seems obvious enough.]

Oh yes! They've killed quite a few of those in their day!

[They say it brightly, as if it's perfectly obvious, with a vicious, delighted grin flashing over their features.]

Don't you know? Have they never told you? Boy, some friend of theirs you are!

[Souji used the word friend because of the link he feels building between himself and Frisk, just like the links had grown at home. But "friends" didn't always describe those bonds.

He lets out a silent sigh. Debating this is just rising to the bait, and this Mirror isn't going to change their mind or their tune.]

I have an unfortunate habit of trusting people no matter what they've done before.

[The "unfortunate" bit was his quiet way of using sarcasm, but the rest is true.

He gestures at the knife again, which still has his blood on it.]

Did you want to keep attacking me?

[There isn't any particular challenge in his voice. He just wants to be aware of what might be coming next.]

Apparently!

[They twirl the Dagger between their fingers and cock their head at him as they survey him without much lingering interest. The resultant EXP may be worth the effort, but frankly, they don't see much appeal in painstakingly whittling down some 500 HP when he's got a healing power to boot.

Their mouth twists unpleasantly and they sigh.]

I suppose not. There's no real point.

[Souji shrugs. He isn't entirely sure he'd beat them, if they were able to attack him enough times in fast enough succession, or get him somewhere more vulnerable with that knife. But having time to use his own attacks or at least his healing spells would make it difficult. Even if he could have held up his end offensively, eventually he'd have run out of HP or SP, and he's a bit relieved they've decided to call it quits. The outcome of even seemingly simple battles wasn't always a given.]

Tell me something: what should I call you?

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SAVE 1.0

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SAVE 2.0

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