finchwoodacademy | EXPLORATION #12

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June 2019

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Page Summary

finchmods - BEFORE EXPLORATION
finchmods - THE SHADOW WORLD
finchmods - FINCHWOOD ACADEMY
finchmods - AFTER EXPLORATION
finchmods - INJURIES/AILMENTS
finchmods - OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

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EXPLORATION

For the first 24 hours please post any exploration spoilers in journal posts under a cut!

While the rift once again opens near the lighthouse, the students of Finchwood Academy haven't acquired any new keys and are at something of a loss about how to proceed. A few minutes are spent trying to (unsuccessfully) bust through the three remaining doors and a few more are spent searching the cathedral, but they soon determine that this is a lost cause. Rather than waiting around or returning to the real world, they decide to explore the Shadow World again, including the areas that had been previously inaccessible to them: Haling High School, the boardwalk, the library, and the occult shop. Two squads will also head down to the coast to see what they can find there.

With this plan in place, the squads go their separate ways.

Squad 1: Haling High School

Haling High School is accessible through the cathedral shortcut, giving Scout, Francesca, Danica, and the rest of Squad 1 an effortless way to reach their destination. The classroom they arrive in is empty and quiet, but they can hear something outside the door. At least their Support is able to confirm that the area is still devoid of Shadows, so whatever they're hearing, it shouldn't be dangerous. Right?

Leaving the classroom, the squad finds that the halls are now filled with spectral students and teachers going through part of a seemingly normal school day that resets every few minutes. They can hear the distant echoes of conversations and the figures move through them like ghosts. Based on the way the students are dressed and the absence of smart phones, they guess that these students are from around the time Gladstone, Voss, and the other Persona-users would've been in school.

While searching the building, they eventually find the former Persona-users all gathered in an empty classroom and talking. It's difficult to understand the conversation fully, but they seem to be discussing entering the Shadow World. Some (including Gladstone, Philip, and Isabelle) are adamant that they have to go in, while others (including Voss, Sammy, and Joss) seem less certain. Seemingly frustrated, Philip says that they need to act quickly because he's not sure how long he can keep lying to his father and-- then the scene cuts off, seeming to reset itself. They watch this a few times before leaving. Finding nothing in the rest of the school, they depart to explore the surrounding area.

Eventually leaving the area where Shadows seem unable to tread, they enter into several fights. Unlike the Shadows in the cathedral, these haven't gotten any stronger; the squad is able to take them down swiftly and without much difficulty. It's nice to know they're progressing, at least. The strongest of the Shadows they encounter, a huge gnarled creature of pale wood with sharp claws and a blank face, does manage to slash Francesca across the stomach, only to be caught and crushed in the grip of Danica's Persona in retaliation.

Finding nothing else of interest in the area, they return to the cathedral.

Squad 2: The Boardwalk

The boardwalk is accessible through the cathedral shortcut, giving Dustin, Martin, Noah, Dallas, and Zinnia an effortless way to reach their destination. They find themselves just outside the arcade and, while the area is dark and dank, it still appears to be safe and devoid of Shadows. Not knowing what they're looking for, they and Lucille search the area thoroughly but come up empty-handed.

With nothing to find, they leave the boardwalk and begin to explore the surrounding area, soon encountering Shadows again. While they find several of the creatures, they aren't as strong as the Shadows they've been fighting in the cathedral and they're able to destroy them without even breaking a sweat. Upon learning from Lucille that some of them are vulnerable to air magic, Noah even takes the opportunity to switch to his second Persona (Jophiel) and show off, throwing the Shadows around like rag dolls and cutting them to ribbons.

Continuing their search, the squad eventually spots a humanoid figure coming toward them. For a moment, they think it might be the real Logan Axell, but his bright yellow eyes and Lucille's warning are quick to clarify the situation. This is the boy's Shadow. He talks down to them, saying cruel and aggressive things that don't sound at all unlike the real Logan. Then, he does something unexpected: he criticizes them for saving him in the Shadow World. Are they stupid? Did they think he deserved that? Did they think it would change him? Dustin attempts to talk him down, saying that everyone deserves to be saved, but this only infuriates the Shadow and it transforms into a monstrous creature made of black tar. It has no face and it's burning, flames leaping off its shoulders and back.

While certainly not as powerful as other Shadows that they've faced, Logan gives them a difficult fight, managing to leave them all with bruises or mild burns and inflcting Dustin with Fear. He only doesn't run away because he's grabbed by Logan's Shadow. After beating the Shadow back, it reverts to its humanoid shape. It looks at them and hides its face in its hands before disappearing. Did they help the real Logan? They're not sure.

Martin then takes over as leader for the remainder of the search, but the squad soon heads back to the cathedral.

Squad 5: The Occult Shop

The occult shop is accessible through the cathedral shortcut, giving Adam, Kodi, Lyle, Venus, and Petra an effortless way to reach their destination. While the shop is dank and dark, once Kodi summons her Persona to light the area and they begin looking around, Venus reports that nothing appears out of place....apart from a ouija board resting on the counter. Before any of them even approach it, the planchette on top begins moving.

While Hadlee confirms that the board isn't a Shadow in disguise (the area is still completely devoid of Shadows), she doesn't know what it is and they hurry over to see what the planchette is spelling. The same pattern repeats: WITH YOU. TAKE ME. Even if they attempt to ask it questions, that's the only response they get. It's definitely strange, but the squad reluctantly decides to do just that and Venus puts the board and planchette into her bag. Finding nothing else in the shop, they soon leave.

Eventually leaving the area that had been purified, the squad does encounter several Shadows. Unlike the Shadows in the cathdral that have become stronger and stronger, these are no longer a match for them and the squad is able to take them out with swift efficiency. Even when they're swarmed by a plethora of ghost-like figures that attack them from all sides, Lyle and Venus only take injuries to protect the ouija board from harm. Were the Shadows aiming for it? It's difficult to tell.

After exploring the area for a time, they find nothing of interest and return to the cathedral.

Squad 6: The Coast

The coast isn't accessible through the cathedral, forcing Justice, Jude, Roland, and Ashton to head there on foot, together with Squad 8. Just in case. While they don't encounter anything between the lighthouse and the shore, the dark water and the sound of the relentless waves as they approach are unsettling. Blake is also able to use her Persona's light abilities to detect Shadows hiding just off the coast. They aren't anything like the powerful entity that Ms. Voss had described, but there are a lot of them.

As they get close to the water, dark shapes begin to emerge. Only vaguely humanoid, the shuffling Shadows are eldritch horrors with slick bodies and huge eyes and grasping tentacles. They prove to be a challenge as they swarm the two squads with the clear aim of overtaking them and pulling them back into the water. Fortunately, Squad 6 is prepared for the challenge...mostly. While Roland keeps the Shadows at bay with blasts of thunder and Ashton lands precision strikes with his bolas that collapse several cartilage skulls (...ew), Justice and Jude find that the Shadows are resistant to their magic, putting them at a disadvantage. While Jude manages despite this, Justice is pulled into the water and inflicted with Fear before her squadmates can pull her back. She flees the water's edge in a panic and hides herself by the cliffs that intersect with the coastline.

Soon, though, after several Shadows have been destroyed, the creatures retreat back into the water and the fight is over. As the Shadows are fleeing, Blake notices that they're disappearing from her Persona's sight somewhere along the cliffs and she focuses her Persona's light abilities there, uncovering a network of caves that had been previously concealed. She can't see how far it goes, though, or what might be within. More Shadows or something else? Regardless, the entrance appears to be underwater and there's no way for them to get there now...especially not with Justice in the state she's in.

While the squads (led by Jude) spend some time heading up the coast in the other direction, they find nothing and soon return to the cathedral.

Squad 9: The Library

The library is accessible through the cathedral shortcut, giving Pansy, Monet, and Skylar an effortless way to reach their destination. The library is dark, lit only by the moonlight coming in through large windows, and the smell of moldy books is far from pleasant, but Henry tells them that the area is still safe. The Shadows haven't returned here either. They begin to look around.

The squad first searches the offices and the staff areas of the library, then splits up to make sure each aisle is examined. There seems to be nothing unusual or out of place until, while walking up one of the rows of reference books, Pansy finds the phrase: as above, so below burned into the floor. Strange. She alerts the others and they all examine the area more carefully. Unfortunately, all of the books are too moldy to read and they find nothing, but they make note of this before moving on.

With nothing left to do in the library, the squad eventually leaves and explores the surrounding areas. When Shadows begin to appear again, they have the same experience that several of the other squads have had; they're now stronger than these Shadows and quickly defeat one after another without much difficulty. Even encountering a nest of the creatures, figures composed of smoke that twist and reform into different shapes as they attack, doesn't slow them down. Monet realizing that her Persona has the ability to inflict the Shadows with Fear, giving them a taste of their own medicine and making them easy targets, definitely helps. It's quite a sight.

Soon, convinced that there is nothing more for them to find, the squad returns to the cathedral.

» BEFORE EXPLORATION: There's a light lunch before the squads slated to enter the rift are bussed out to the lighthouse.

» THE SHADOW WORLD: Please put your squad name in the header. Keep in mind that Support students are in the auditorium together with Ms. Voss and are not physically present in the Shadow World, but their threads can go here.

» FINCHWOOD ACADEMY: Students that aren't set to explore are told to stay on campus and be battle-ready, just in case.

» AFTER EXPLORATION: Everyone doing ok? Students that were injured or afflicted with ailments are taken to Iason before they're allowed to do anything else.

» OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

Once outside, they wait about 15 minutes before the rift closes and they head back to Finchwood. The rift was open for a total of 5 hours, 46 minutes, and 21 seconds.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

finchmods

From:

knockyouout

Before she gets in a van to head to the Rift, Venus takes a moment to seek out Hadlee. She'd bought her a gift last week, payment in kind for the earrings Hadlee had given her, and it arrived in the mail yesterday. She'd meant to go down to town to find something nice to wrap it in, but she's feeling antsy today and doesn't want to wait.

"Hey, I got you something," she says after flagging Hadlee down. She holds up a necklace by its silver chain. "It's not as pretty as the one you gave me," she admits, holding it out for Hadlee to take nonetheless.

From:

trailerparkprincess

Hadlee is clearly surprised to be receiving a gift, but she's definitely not unhappy about it - presents always perk her up, especially when she's feeling as antsy and uncomfortable as she is now. She almost always feels like this before Exploration.

Biting her lip a little, she reaches out to take the necklace, holding it gently in her hand to look it over before she puts it on. "I love it. And this one isn't going to disappear like the dumb one I made you, so..." Hadlee trails off and shifts between her feet. "Be super careful, ok?"

Venus & Hadlee

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knockyouout - Date: 2019-02-24 09:49 pm (UTC) - Expand

Venus & Hadlee

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trailerparkprincess - Date: 2019-02-25 07:18 pm (UTC) - Expand

Venus & Hadlee

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knockyouout - Date: 2019-02-25 08:12 pm (UTC) - Expand

Venus & Hadlee

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trailerparkprincess - Date: 2019-02-25 09:36 pm (UTC) - Expand

From:

finchmods

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finchmods

From:

de_leon

Sundays are for cooking in the de Leon household. So the first Sunday after Lee told Gregory that she'd never made bagels before, Young Greggo shows up in the Wands kitchen with flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Oh, and two aprons.

"We're going to made boiled bagels!" Gregory announces, delighted. He's looking forward to an afternoon with the chipper yet cool senior. Cooking with friends is the best. "And then can share them with everyone when they come back from exploration."

That's about as much thought as he'd like to put into exploration right now. Why dwell on the safety on your friends when you can immerse yourself in bagel making?

From:

woeislee

Lee couldn't agree more that baking is a better use of their time than fretting. It won't actually stop her from worrying, but she's a great multitasker. She readily jumps into action, taking half of the ingredients he has brought and spreading them over the counter. When she notices he brought her an apron too, it's hard not to squeal. The little sophomore (maybe it's not fair to call him 'little' when he's already taller than she is) is so cute, she could eat him up. She's already prepared with an on brand apron thrown over her shoulder, but she puts on the one he brought anyway.

"Great! Did you already look up the recipe you want to make, or should we Google it?" Lee asks. "Are we going to do plain bagels?"

Gregory and Lee Boil Bagels

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de_leon - Date: 2019-02-25 04:09 pm (UTC) - Expand

Gregory and Lee Boil Bagels

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woeislee - Date: 2019-02-26 01:19 am (UTC) - Expand

Gregory and Lee Boil Bagels

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de_leon - Date: 2019-02-26 06:36 am (UTC) - Expand

Gregory and Lee Boil Bagels

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woeislee - Date: 2019-02-26 03:09 pm (UTC) - Expand

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finchmods

lucillefer - Date: 2019-02-25 10:06 am (UTC) - Expand

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empereurs

Another Exploration down. The stress of waiting around is at once agonizing and monotonously familiar—they've been through enough of these that Flint trusts it won't be that bad; no matter who's been stabbed or afflicted with an ailment, they've always come through in one piece. He studies with Suzy, and reads half of a chapter twenty times. When they get news that the squads have returned to school, Flint stays put, not wanting to crowd anyone or demand attention. He sends Scout a simple text telling him that Flint is in the Swords boys' common room, and not to rush.

He's pacing the floor when Scout finally appears. "Hey." Flint immediately closes the distance, reaching out to touch him, just to reassure his overactive brain that Scout is okay. He finds Scout's elbow and runs his hand down Scout's arm, until his pinky finger catches onto the bracelet tied around his wrist. "This is starting to fall apart," Flint murmurs.

Flint & Scout

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star_boy - Date: 2019-02-25 07:26 pm (UTC) - Expand

Flint & Scout

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empereurs - Date: 2019-02-26 12:16 am (UTC) - Expand

Flint & Scout

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finchmods


AILMENTS Characters that have been inflicted with ailments during battle will be taken to Iason after returning from the Shadow World. While Iason can sometimes negate ailments completely, just as often he can only lessen their effects and the characters must endure some symptoms for between one and four days until the ailments fade completely. This is opt-in. Reply below if your character was inflicted with an ailment and you would like Iason to be unable to heal it completely. Sorry, kids! He tried! 😱Dustin (inflicted with Fear) 😱Justice (inflicted with Fear) For more information about how the ailments impact characters after leaving the Shadow World, click here.		INJURIES Characters that received injuries during battle will be taken to Iason after returning from the Shadow World. All but the most severe injuries can be healed without issue. The mods will notify you if an injury is severe enough that it can't be healed; otherwise, assume that it was healed. If there's a healer on your squad, feel free to assume your character was healed by their teammate rather than Iason if that's preferred. ✖️Francesca (slash across stomach) ✖️Squad 2 (various bruises and burns) ✖️Lyle (scrapes and bruises) ✖️Venus (scrapes and bruises)

Edited Date: 2019-02-24 04:34 pm (UTC)

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minisupreme - Date: 2019-02-24 08:35 pm (UTC) - Expand

From:

finchmods

Sorry to crowd pcal, but I'm afraid my Internet will die and stay dead. :o

Edited Date: 2019-02-24 04:34 pm (UTC)

From:

undebted

THANK YOOOOU MODS for all the work you do. ;o; this is a really cool exploration

noah, for the first time ever, will not complain about what happened during exploration because he is feeling both competent and like he's adjusted well to the whole "go into a nightmare dimension and fight monsters" thing. this in itself is troubling but fuck it, just repress :)) how's that self-loathing, logan buddy old pal

blake is curious about the hidden caves but much more worried about justice right now ;o; her priority is to check on her squad leader, and then after stare intently in the direction of the leaders of squads 1, 5 and 9 to see if they're ok???????

flint is lowkey anxious about everyone who went in and spent the day making more friendship bracelets and then trying to unravel them. tal is incapable of anxiety and raided the kitchen for other people's leftovers to make a mega-sandwich

if anyone wants a scene i'd be happy to!!!

Edited Date: 2019-02-24 05:03 pm (UTC)