[semi-open!] I believe in you and I can do anything; we can change the world!

[slightlyoblivious]

Characters: Yukiko Amagi, the entirety of the Persona cast and Stregaverse, and trusted friends. Please tag yourselves in! New Purse Owners, you're welcome here!

(Xion, OU!Riku, AU!John Egbert, Saber of White, Diarmuid, Zelda, Shepard - if you have close positive CR with a Persona cast member, it's fine.

If you have any kind of negative CR, or your CR is only casual, I ask that you please not tag this.)

Setting: July 8th, 2 PM, Floor 28.
Format: Written in prose, either in comments.
Summary: Yukiko requested a meeting.
Warnings: Persona 4 Arena spoilers, talk about past Tower events, probably some language - not from Yukiko, but from other people.



Before the Meeting:

To say Yukiko was nervous was an understatement. She picked a few notes at the piano she'd chosen to call the meeting together on - she could play a loud middle C, but that was it - now and then, but she was still pacing a little and definitely nervous. Anyone wanting to approach her to calm her down would be most appreciated.

Comments

Meeting: Called to Order

[slightlyoblivious]

Yukiko cleared her throat, playing a loud middle C on the piano, then clapping her hands a few times. Now or never, right?

"Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Yukiko Amagi. I know some of you may have known other versions of me, but I...well, there's one more person as far along on our shared timelines as we are.

And I say 'shared timelines' because...we all know about Personas. We all know about Shadows. Some of us have our own Shadows that became our Personas. Some of us can change Personas at will. Some of ours have evolved. But we all know that power.

I called everyone together here today for a few reasons. The major one was what I saw at the barricade on the night of June 19th. So many Persona-users in one place, Ryoji, who saved me using a Shadow form, all across the timelines, fighting together - boosting magic, healing, all of that. I believe we should be continuing that.

I know there are some of us who can't summon. I think we should help them, too - teaching them to fight, if we can. Making sure they're okay. Healing if we can.

Because...because back home, I've been through a lot. I've seen a lot of people awaken to their own power. And I...the last thing I remember before coming to this Tower was an incident that brought together those of us from Gekkoukan High and the town of Inaba. Labrys-san can explain a lot of the details herself, but we were made to fight each other inside the world of the Shadows. The mastermind was a voice I hadn't heard before - something that sounded like pure chaos itself. Like Ruana sounds when she growled, the night the Glamour system failed.

We're going to be tasked to beat it. I know that we can.

Just like we can beat Ruana. We can do it, working together. Even if she changes us, even if she brings our Shadows out. We can do it. No matter what experiments - and I know some of you went through those at home - she does. No matter the monsters.

We can do this. We will do it.

Thank you for your time. That's the gist of what I had to say today. Let's see what we can work out, together."

Discussion/Meeting End

[slightlyoblivious]

Yukiko looks tired, as she finds a place to sit down. But she also looks happy. Approach?

General Interactions

[slightlyoblivious]

Anything else? Before meeting, one-on-ones, go here.

[fuhgeddaboudit]

Labrys raised her hand slightly, glancing around as though waiting for someone to speak first--she didn't want to interrupt.

"If anybody wants me t' explain all a' that--it's kinda a long story but I'll try t' make it as short as I can. But aside from that, uh...I ain't really used t' usin' my own Persona yet. I've been doin' a little trainin' on my own and I've been careful t' listen to her, but if there's anybody that can help me get a little better with that I'd kinda appreciate it."

[slightlyoblivious]

"You've got it. We're furthest along the timeline; I'll always have your back, Labrys-san."

Yukiko walked over, with a warm smile, offering her hand.

[fuhgeddaboudit]

"Thanks, Yukiko. I'll be sure t' follow you guys until I can fight a little better with Ariadne on my own."

She took Yukiko's hand, smiling gratefully.

[slightlyoblivious]

"I don't have any doubt that you'll get there." Yukiko's words were said with a squeeze to Labrys' hand. "After all, we're timeline-sisters. We've gotta have each others' backs, right?"

[fuhgeddaboudit]

"Eheheh--yeah, course we are. I ain't sayin' it's not good t' have so amy a' my friends around--I mean, it is--but it's nice t' have someone that remembers without me tellin' 'em, ya know?"

[imperialsun]

That was interesting information to take in. Naoya stayed mostly quiet as he listened, but frowned when she mentioned a mastermind. He had three guesses as to who this entity might be and the first two didn't count.

When she was done he stood up upright arms on his sides like he always did, before placing one on his chin, thinking.

"What do you know about Philemon and Nyarlathotep?"

One think you would quickly find out more as you knew him; he was very very blunt.

[altitonant_emperor]

The information was indeed fascinating. Gekkoukan High, Inaba, this mastermind...

Hidetoshi, who had also largely kept himself silent through the speech since he wasn't someone who could summon a Persona or volunteer new information himself, looks over at Naoya when he stands up at the end of it and thoughtfully opens up with a question of his own. Nyarlathotep. He knew about that creature, from the incident in the Tower weeks ago.

The teenager stayed seated, but his chin tips up as he looks away from Naoya to whomever else is answering.

He'd like to know more too, after all.

[slightlyoblivious]

"Not much, I'm afraid. I heard Mitsuru-san and Akihiko-san mention Nyarlathotep as a possibility for who the mastermind was, but I wasn't able to get more information before I got here. I really don't know anything else, and the library's sections are restricted.

I wish I could answer more than that."

[slightlyoblivious]

"I definitely understand, Labrys. I definitely do. Over the last few months, too...it was actually knowing everything the way I do that put me in the position I'm in to be able to talk about it. You should talk to Ryoji sometime; I think he was in a similar place to where you were once, but he didn't say for sure."

...oops. She's not using honorifics. In Labrys' case? It's because she just declared them sisters. In Ryoji's? Yep.

"We'll all be here for each other. It'll be all right."

[imperialsun]

Yes that was an interesting tidbit, but he could mention that later.

"Philemon is the one who gave my team their powers," he explained, "As well as Tatsuya and Maya's own teams." While they weren't here in the tower anymore, Naoya had been explained the situation. "We all played the Persona game and he was the one who gave us that power...but the point is, Philemon represents the potential of humanity. Nyarlathotep is the exact opposite. His goal is the complete destruction of all of humanity. He has been as it as long as humans have Anger, Vengence, and Ignorance, it will continue to fuel his power. Chaos is a different thing entirely, and not necessarily evil."

You can guess where this is leading.

"You mentioned we all know about Shadows, but that is only partly correct. I was the only one who met my shadow in my team before arriving here, and all he did was bestow to me the items so my team could gain their more powerful Personas. I do know that Tatsuya and the others met a shadow self but...we think they were fuel by Nyarlathotep. Their forms were able to use their personas after all."

"In my time, Nyarlathotep was Kandori's persona, or at least pretending to be. We had assumed it was just a simple persona instead of a force before I met Tatsuya and the others." He stopped to rub his earring. "Then there was a group who came here a while ago, without collars, and I assume now no glamour, trying to find him, apparently sent by Philemon. He was here for a while...playing around like this was his own personal playground as usual. At least until Ruana stopped him and sent him home..." Yeah, that part was confusing.

[altitonant_emperor]

Hidetoshi remained mute, processing the information. So, Philemon was the potential of humanity and, like that white-haired girl from the group had claimed, did indeed possess the ability to grant people the power of Persona. Three groups, Naoya's, Tatsuya and Maya's teams were proof of this. This was a battle that has spanned generations... Though apparently there hadn't been so strength or focus placed on the Shadows.

He listened as Naoya continued with his speech, explaining more about Nyarlathotep, Tatsuya and the other's shadows and a man named Kandori having him pretending to be his Persona.

Hm. On one hand, at least Ruana had displayed the power to defeat him? Somehow?

Yes, it was confusing to Hidetoshi as well.

When he speaks up, his comment is simple, "And you strongly believe him to the mastermind Amagi-san speaks of, right? Given the history you've just told us of, that does seem to have a very high chance of being correct."

[slightlyoblivious]

"It sounds like it. If Mitsuru-san and Akihiko-san thought so, and you've had dealings with him in the past..."

Yukiko nodded her head. "I only heard the name in passing before now. So that's enough to link all of us in another way, especially if this Nyarlathotep was in the Tower at some point. When was that, exactly? I don't remember it, but I only got here in March. The first major thing I remember happening was when Jason brainwashed a lot of us, in April, but I was at least conscious, though I couldn't speak...I died twice that month."

She swallowed hard. She still has issues around that, ones the Tower didn't help by putting her into the wire frame.

"Do we know how Ruana banished him? Because...because that might be our key. I don't want to imitate everything she does, but..."

[imperialsun]

He had his ideas. But speaking them loudly here would probably be unwise. They could be listening to what they were saying.

"No." That was the truth, they actually didn't know. "It might simply be in her power to do so." With that said...

"It was Ruana's last month before July, so February. As for my dealings with Nyarlathotep, they were minimal. It was Tatsuya and Maya's group that had the biggest dealings with him. However, that is my belief. What he plans to do, I am unsure, but I have a feeling everything that happened in Yu, Minako and Minato's groups were partly influenced by him."

[imperialsun]

HE DARES TO APPROACH.

Actually he's smiling as well and gives her a nod in greeting.

"That was a nice speech."

Whoever wants to meet with one(1) Persona Protag | Prose or Action is fine, I will match!

[imperialsun]

Before the meeting you could find Naoya Toudou arriving early and mostly keeping to himself, thinking about a great deal of many things, if his rubbing his earring nearly constantly was any indication.

[attheclocktower]

Xion was very quiet as she listened to most of the meeting. In fact, she's probably one of the last ones to finally speak up.

"I'm not from your worlds, and I only know a little about... shadows and Personas, and things like that. But I've been in the Tower since January of last year. And I've never been sent home, not even for a little while, so I remember almost everything," she hesitated nervously, before continuing, "There are probably people who've been here longer but if you want to know anything, ask me, or one of them, if they're okay with that."

"I think what's most important right now is we figure out something to do. Something to try that we all agree on. I've seen other times where people team up fall apart because they were all fighting about the best way to try to figure things out. And that was nearly a year ago."

Everyone who had been at the Council meeting - the group she had helped found - remembers the fiasco it had been - all of the disagreements, particularly involving teaming up with the more morally questionable people of the Tower. And after that, the group had slowly fallen apart. Working together was good, but working together with no direction... she'd seen it happen before, but she didn't want it to happen here, or with Pandora either.

[justabignobody]

"...Xion is right. There are a lot of people in this tower, from a lot of different worlds and universes and with very different powers. I think our advantage lies in that diversity."

Because beating Ruana cannot be done by one person or one single group alone. The victories they had, the information they had discovered... it's always been the effort of many people.

"The efforts to organize as a large organization before were... less than successful, that much we can agree on. So maybe we just need to start smaller."

There is after all a number of people that Riku would like to think he and Xion can speak on behalf of. He can't be the only one. And maybe if they find a way to tie these small clusters together...

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid moves from where he has been listening quietly through the whole meeting to stand closer to where Yukiko is sitting. He hasn't said anything during the meeting because he hadn't come to discuss things with them. He doesn't know enough about their worlds and timelines to do so. In fact, that is why he is there. After learning just how much he doesn't know about Ryoji and how that had cost them during the fight against Sephiroth's mind control, he is doing all he can to try and fill in some of those gaps in his knowledge so that something like that won't happen again. After all, he is friends with several people in this room. For him to have let himself remain in the dark about so much is a serous mistake on his part.

At the moment, he is still processing all he has learned. He will probably have questions later, but for now still trying to sort the information out including how it all connected to the events that had happened in February.

"It seems as though things went well," Diarmuid smiles gently at her. "I don't know how much I can do to help, but if you think of anything you know you can ask, right? I don't know if training against non-Persona users is something that will aid in the development of your powers, but as you saw, I am no ordinary fighter. I will be glad to help with that if I can."

[slightlyoblivious]

"Do you think targeted teams would be a better approach? Affiliated, of course, but smaller. If we could figure out some way to approach that...elements? Colors?"

Yukiko nodded her head - she could get behind that.

"Maybe 4-5 to a team? Make sure everyone has one healer involved or someone who can heal - my Persona is mostly associated with fire magic, but I can heal, too."

[slightlyoblivious]

"Thank you. And I didn't get to thank you for the healing spell from before, so I'd like to do that now," Yukiko answers, with a bow. "I really appreciate that, Naoya-san. I couldn't do a lot about the magic drain - that still took about 5 days at the strength I took it - but that definitely helped with the broken leg."

[slightlyoblivious]

"I was so nervous beforehand that I'm still amazed I got all of the words out." Yukiko laughed, a little bit of those nerves coming out with them. "But I'm glad things went as well as they did. And I'm glad you were able to make it here, Diarmuid-san. I hope knowing a little more about our world - and it is one world, even if we got pulled from different points on the timeline - is helpful, too."

She tilts her head a little, humming as she thinks. "Well, you know I'm all about distance-fighting - I can get close if I have to, but I prefer at least an arms' length between myself and my opponent. But I also know that not everyone in this room has that specific ability, and not everyone here is a Persona-user. Can I send people to you if they want practice fighting, just as a rule?"

[imperialsun]

"Welcome." That was as much acknowledgement as he was going to do about this, however. "I can't leave people injured. I'm glad it helped. Too bad even Nervundi couldn't fix that. That was quite an attack on your part as well."