EIDBT – April 16, 2011 – Social Link?
At long last, I’ve had a mostly relaxing day here in Inaba. I know things are far from over, maybe they haven’t even really started yet, but I was able to at least have a day without too much crazy shit happening.
So like I said yesterday, I decided that it might be best to watch the Midnight Channel again last night. I watched some TV until midnight – apparently Inaba has been hit with strangely thick fog this past year, and it’s predicted to last for at least another year as well. I had an inkling that I knew the cause of it, of course. In any case, when the clock struck midnight, I turned the TV off and watched intently. As expected, the Midnight Channel appeared. This time, it showed a woman wearing a kimono. I had a wild thought and tried to reach through the screen to the person, but as my hand passed through the glass, the image disappeared. I stood back for a moment, and considered the image I saw. The only person I’ve seen in Inaba wearing a kimono is Yukiko, so my mind immediately went to her. I couldn’t be sure however, and decided to put it off until tomorrow. I got ready for bed, and let myself fall asleep.
I found myself once again in the Velvet Room. The limo was the same as always, and Igor and Margaret were waiting for me. Igor mentioned that he had summoned me here in my dreams. Great, now I’m not safe from crazy shit happening even when I’m sleeping. Margaret started to explain,
“Only people who have entered into a contract of sorts may enter here. In your daily life, you subconsciously heard the call to awaken, and you chose to follow the destiny of your inner voice… Thereby enacting your glorious awakening to your power.” Igor handed me a key.
“Your destiny will require you to hone your power, and for that, you will inevitably require our help. There is but one price for this assistance… You must abide by your contract, and assume responsibility for all decisions you may make.” I was honestly a little confused at this point, so I told him so. “… That is fine, for now. The Persona you have acquired… It is a side of you that shows itself when you face the world around you. Perhaps you can think of it as… a facade of determination you wear to face various difficulties in life. Your Persona ability, however, is that of the wild card… Compared to that of others, it is very special. It is like the number zero… empty, yet holding infinite potential within itself.” Empty…? “The Persona ability is the power to control one’s own heart… And the heart is strengthened through bonds. As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Social Links will gradually develop. The power of these Social Links is what will determine your Persona’s abilities.” Margaret piped up again,
“Social links are necessary for more than strengthening your Persona. At times, they will help light the way to the truth you are searching for.” Igor seemed very pleased at all this.
“Where will your awakened power of the wild card take you…? I look forward to traveling the road of your destiny together… *chuckle* ‘Til we meet again…”
And with that, I woke up. Damn, those two need to learn some manners. It’s got to be against some crazy dream-person’s moral code to mess with someone like this without even asking for permission.
I met Yosuke on the way to school again this morning. He asked if I watched the Midnight Channel last night, which of course I did.
“I couldn’t tell who it was, but if someone showed up on TV, we can’t ignore it. Let’s go check it out after school. If it turns out someone was thrown in again, there really might be a culprit behind all this. Even if it is something about that place that’s killing the victims… If someone’s using that world as a weapon, that’s unforgivable. We need to find the culprit, no matter what it takes!” I agreed with Yosuke. Clearly, we are the only ones who can stop all this. I don’t fully understand the power or purpose of these Personas, but I feel that since I have this ability, it is my duty to use it. Yosuke went on to tell me that he can enter into the TV now on his own, which he couldn’t do before he got his Persona. That unnerved me a lot, because it implies that whoever is on the other end of these murders also has a Persona. If it comes down to a battle, we need to be ready for it. As we were about to leave, Yosuke mentioned something,
“Could be that we got this gift from someone specifically so we could solve the case.” That might be more true than I’d like it to be. Igor and Margaret appeared to me before I even left, after all… By the way, I haven’t told anyone around me about Igor and Margaret yet. I figure that this is something special for me, and I don’t know if it would even help me to tell them about it. With our resolve set, Yosuke and I shook hands. As we did, time seemed to slow down for me. I could feel a voice resonating inside my head as I watched Yosuke’s face in slow motion. It told me that I had established a bond of friendship, and that I would be blessed in creating Personae of the Magician arcana. When the voice receded, I shook my head, trying to clear the confusion away. I hope that doesn’t happen every time I become friends with someone.
When we got to class, Chie burst in, looking incredibly flustered. Yosuke tried to apologize, but Chie brushed it off.
“Oh–Nevermind that. Is Yukiko still not here?” We asked her what she meant; Chie hadn’t been able to get in touch with Yukiko since last night. Even worse, she was convinced that it was Yukiko last night on the Midnight Channel. Yosuke and I exchanged a look. We both thought that she was inside the TV World for sure. Thankfully, we were proven wrong when Chie was finally able to get ahold of Yukiko. Of course, Chie had to bust on Yosuke for overreacting. Nevertheless, we agreed to meet up at Junes after TV in order to figure out if anything had actually gone on in the TV World.
On the way to Junes, Yosuke and I explained to Chie what happened last night.
“If I hadn’t seen the place first hand… I’d never have believed a story like that.”
“We need to know what’s going on inside.”
“Wh-How? By talking to that Teddie guy?”
“Yeah. Too bad there’s so many customers around… I forgot there’s a sale in the electronics department today…” Yosuke thought for a moment. “I got it! C’mere a sec.” He lead me up to the TV. “Try sticking your hand in and calling him over. I bet that bear’s wandering around the entrance anyway.” I tried beckoning Teddie over. As I was reaching around, something bit me! I pulled my hand back and began to nurse it. Chie asked me if I was okay. I was, really. It wasn’t anything serious. Chie walked up to the TV and began to whisper-yell at the TV.
“Hey, you! We know you’re in there!”
“Oooh Oooh, is this a game?” Teddie replied. Yosuke got mad at the implication.
“No, it’s not a game! Can you sense anyone inside there right now?”
“Who’s ‘anyone’? I’m a lonely little bear like always. This land feels so… bear-ren… heheh” Sigh, puns. Chie shared my sentiment.
“Shut it! So there’s no one inside…? You’re sure?”
“I-I’m not lying! My nose is running as good as ever!”
Nevertheless, Chie decided that it would be best to warn Yukiko anyway. We all began to talk about setting up a plan to keep her safe. Yosuke and I decided to exchange numbers, in case we needed to get in touch with each other later about this whole situation. With that done, we all went out respective ways.
So you can see, while it certainly wasn’t a totally uneventful day, at least nothing too insane happened. I’m going to have a slow night tonight, thankfully. I need to watch the midnight channel, but I have a feeling at least that no creepy dream-people will intrude on my sleep again tonight. I hope.
WEATHER FORECAST:
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Sun | Sun | Sun/Cloud | Cloud | Rain/Cloud | Sun/Cloud |
Ahoge Thoughts 