Glamour Failure

[animusmods]

Characters: any
Setting: all around the Tower
Format: any/party-style
Summary: A general mingle log for the reaction to the beginning of the Idealism event.
Warnings: PG-13; please include any more detailed warnings in your threads if necessary

Comments

[evokingfool]

Very tiring, but at very least, Minato wasn't crying out or venting his feelings about this. He's channeling his emotions and energy into seeking out his friends.

"Hidetoshi-kun."

He sounded relieved at finding his friend so soon, before Minato focused on the question. Logic was good and easy to deal with.

"I have no idea. Whatever it was, it most likely interfered with the system or struck the main system. Massive enough to cause the glamour failure."

Blackout? Sure, a bit surprising, but Minato can deal with it.

This? A whole another league.

[altitonant_emperor]

Hidetoshi had already vented his emotions and a lot of the initial shock onto Aleph, so he's doing pretty well in that department in comparison to the chaos all around them.

"Damnit."

He has the inkling he'll be saying that a great deal over the next few days. With a sigh, he stands up, trying to ignore the fact that he doesn't have knees or toes, and only the impressions of a blank face, tongue and eyes.

"We'll have to hope that this wasn't done with malicious intentions. Because if it was, we are in even deeper trouble than we are right now."

Yeah.

He knows that feel, Minato.

[evokingfool]

"If it's done without malicious intentions..."

He can think of a few possibilities. Either the administrators made a spectacular mistake, or a group--the scale seemed too much for a single individual--wish to deal a fatal blow to them.

"If it was intended, something should be done about it. If it goes on for any longer, I'm not sure what's going to happen from us."

Because he's going to guess that this would prompt another action from them. Either calculated or driven by desperation.

[altitonant_emperor]

"The administrators can't be so incompetent as to have done this themselves if they've kept this illusion up and running for so long without us knowing the reality of the system."

If he'd had any eyebrows, Hidetoshi would have raised them. Instead he settles on a brusque nod, the head of his blaringly orange figure bowing and agreeing with what he had said.

"I don't think we can take action until everybody starts calming down. Getting something productive done in this kind of chaos would be difficult."

Unchecked desperation makes people do funny things. He would prefer to not see what kind of lengths they could be driven to.

[evokingfool]

"I agree."

On both counts. After the initial confusion, Minato's expecting the administrators to restore the illusion as soon as they can. For everyone else...people can get awfully creative and reckless in desperation. Awfully so.

"I can't use my Personas right now. I suspect everyone with powers can't use them as well."

Which mean one less means of defense in the bare tower. One less method for Minato to protect his friends and others.

[altitonant_emperor]

"Tch."

He pressed his lips together.

"Yes, that was my assumption, too," Aleph had said that as well. Perhaps it was fortunate that Hidetoshi had no supernatural powers to be stripped of himself. But... "Aren't your Personae reflections of your soul itself? GiIven that your soul is clearly still present, why can they no longer speak to you?"

Losing the illusions of the powers granted by their original bodies, species, and weapons, etc was one thing. But the soul was the one thing that remained after all of that was gone. Logically, if it was the sole 'real' part of them that wasn't generated by the Glamour System, why would it lose its innate abilities?

[evokingfool]

That's what Minato was wondering about. Losing the illusions of using their powers was one thing, but the specifics was what he's interested in.

"They are a part of me. I don't feel any different." Because losing even one of his Personas would be bad for him, mentally speaking. "It's almost like...the connection to them was blocked? Cut?"

Actually, he don't know how to phrase this. It's different from standing on a floor where powers get nullified. He wouldn't say he's "normal" now, but it's certainly different.

[altitonant_emperor]

Hidetoshi folded the portions of his wireframe that looked like his glowing orange arms across his chest, cocking his eyebrow as he tried to think and reason this dilemma out.

"Well, that's good," He had enough to be worried about without having to move Minato's mental health further up the list than it already was. "Blocked, I imagine? Perhaps they are still present and aware, but currently unable to be heard by you?"

Temporary deafening of the soul? Somebody pressed the Mute button on his Personae? No, not like that. Cutting the connection seemed like it would risk damaging the soul itself, and if nothing else, the administration had always appeared to be bent on preserving their souls the best they could.

[evokingfool]

Minato nodded, his wireframe body shifted to a more thoughtful looking pose.

"That's right. It's not like being on a floor where you can't use your powers, so blocking their voices would make sense."

At very least, he would still hear them if things were back to normal, as far as this tower can be. And speaking of souls, it seemed pretty specific enough for Persona-users. Or not so specific, if the administrators categorised their Personas under simply "powers".

"Maybe they just listed Personas simply as 'Powers' and separate from our soul in their system?"

[altitonant_emperor]

Hidetoshi thinks about the theory Minato proposed.

"That, honestly seems like an odd or outright ineffective system to me," He remarked. If it's a part of the soul itself, then it must take effort to remove that section of the soul to the point where it can be regarded as merely a power and switched off with the rest of this illusionary deception.

"But it's plausible."