destinystrings | Autumn Festival (OPEN)

Entry tags:

Autumn Festival (OPEN)

Who: EVERYONE
Where: Virgo Ward
Summary: Autumn Festival Log! You're all invited!
Warnings: MELONS
Ahh Autumn. The time for harvest, and the normal national holiday that falls on the 24th and 25th. Demons? Angels? Magic? Well nothing's been put on pause, but even the Anoli need to relax once in a while...

With that free time, what's a newcomer like you to do?

Well Hinoto-Ri has much to offer! As they seem to be the only standing city in...well, anywhere, they've tried to merge and adapt as many festivals around the world as they can.

Ergo this Fall festival is a mixture of everything the world could offer. Corn on the cob, Pumpkins, Yaki Imo (Oven-Roasted Sweet Potatoes), Ramen stands, Falafel, caramelized apples...

A giant dragon is tied down in the middle of the waters. At night, you can see a few pixies hover close to it, keeping other monsters at bay. The streets have been decorated as well.

But most importantly, the upper Virgo Ward has been turned in a giant festival area...even more so than usual! Now the millions of stalls don't just try to sell things to you, they sell things to you thematically with this fall! Giant pumpkins and fresh produce made in Libra and Capricorn..did you know that Capicorn has an amazing giant apple orchid, protected by the office of Wands and Swords? Try out some free samples! One taste is enough to convince you that having Persona to irrigate the fields ass a crispness to the fruit..right? Winter outfits...hats are in this year! Listen to some of the new music groups, and get pumped for the upcoming movies!

There is giant mooncake in the middle of all the tents and stalls. Don't worry about the money! Everything's free today! It is a time for sharing and family and...

...being thankful for what you have. No matter how small it might be.

For a city of survivors, Hinoto-Ri is certainly trying to have a good time.

You should join them.

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((Yeah, that's right! I actually haven't played Overclocked either; I've just looked through a few Youtube clips.))

"Hah! Like you can hear anything through those things, anyway." Atsuro steps back with a smile. "A hundred yen says your Persona here is just gonna be a giant pair of those headphones." He scrutinizes Kazuya in turn as his vision continues to clear, his eyebrows rising slightly as he finally gets a good look at his friend.

"...Gee. I leave for a month and you've started taking fashion tips from Naoya. Can't leave you guys alone for a minute." The full implications of his vague attempt at humor fails to register, though - he's far too busy appreciating the reunion to think much beyond the obvious. Atsuro's smile broadens as he hears Kazuya's next words.

"Hey, I knew we would! We were so close there, right at the end - you don't know how nerve-wracking it is to be pulled away five minutes before the final blow." He shakes his head slightly. "...It's good to hear it from you, though."

((Phew =7=;; okay then <3 But yes, he's the good King of Bel ;v; ))

Kazuya lifted a hand up to adjust the collar of his cape, glancing at his friend contemplatively. Naoya had unhelpfully not mentioned what was so different about the worlds they came from, so he couldn't gauge how Atsuro would react...well. Atsuro stuck by him when he chose this path, and this Atsuro will be the same.

He was his best friend, no matter the world.

"I saw Naoya earlier," Kazuya said abruptly. May as well cut to the chase. "He was pretty drunk, and was rambling about us being from different timelines. Is that true or is he making up drunken bullshit again?"

Atsuro's smile takes on an shocked frozen edge. What had been patently obvious to Kazuya from the beginning had somehow failed to come to mind until it had been stated clearly without ambivalence. His eyes flick off to the side as the dawning comprehension spreads across his face.

"Ah. ...Oh."

His brows knit together as he briefly betrays a moment of what is clearly disappointment. Kazuya was Kazuya. But of them all, it was Kazuya who was most subject to change, Kazuya who had the paths laid before him. The Kazuya who chose to take his place at God's side was not the Kazuya who chose to become the King of Bel was not the Kazuya who had pizza and played games and longed for things to go back to the way they were with Atsuro.

...Angels and demons. He didn't care for either. But when every power on earth aimed to bring humanity to its knees, there was only one thing he could trust in. His smile flickers back onto his face, though slightly subdued.

"No, it's true. ...Naoya is from a world where we decided to side with the angels and Yehowah. ...He's kinda bitter about it. And me? We chose a third option."

Kazuya was not exactly blind. He noticed the brief moment of disappointment from his friend, but couldn't fault him for it - they didn't exactly know each other. They came from different worlds, with apparently vast differences between them, and that, of course, would make it hard to have the same relationship with Atsuro and Naoya if they saw him in a different light than what he was used to.

Naoya had been pleased and proud in him for choosing to become King of Bel, but this Naoya was bitter over his Kazuya going with God (what had his other self been thinking?!). Atsuro had been apprehensive about him becoming the King of Bel, but stuck by him out of true loyalty - but that was a constant. Kazuya was certain that no matter what choice he made, Atsuro would have stayed with him no matter what, unlike the others-

Kazuya's expression darkened briefly, his scarlet eyes flashing before he pushed those horrible thoughts aside. It had been painful, but it had been necessary. Sacrifice and all that rot.

"And we kicked Babel's ass no matter what decision we made," Kazuya said slyly, aiming to lighten the mood. "So there was all that pressure to do the right thing for nothing. We were golden no matter what path we chose."

"..."

Atsuro fails to respond for a moment or two, seemingly distracted by his own thoughts. It wasn't terribly difficult to guess which path this Kazuya had chosen to walk (glowy red eyes of doom were always suggestive), but the ramifications of actually taking on the mantle of demon king weren't something he had considered before, short of 'and then the demons stopped murdering everyone'. ...Fighting God, right? That had been Naoya's plan. What about the stuff in between? Atsuro comes to with a shake of his head.

"...Golden, huh?" Another short pause. "Hah... Nah, that's not it. Maybe there were a lot of ways we could've gotten rid of the demons, but the real reason we survived... The real reason that any of these worlds can exist at all. Naoya, Amane, all of us -- we were all depending on you."

Kazuya blinked slightly before he let out a scoff, crossing his arms and looking away with an indifferent expression. He wasn't quite sure how to respond to that - it did seem like he was important no matter the timeline, wasn't it? Was it simply because he was a piece of Abel? Really, if he never got these King of Bel powers, or was eligible for the competition, he wouldn't've been much help.

"Well, I made the playing field a little uneven, didn't I?" Kazuya finally said after a pause, looking back at his friend with a small smirk. "Since I was born as a super special snowflake...my life feels like it should be a shonen manga," he said, resting his hands on his hips as he chuckled.

"Yeah, right. You just wish you were in a harem series." Atsuro snorts as he ~~transparently projects his own desires~~ grins. "It's too bad we got stuck in a disaster-horror movies instead. We can aim for a party game next time - take turns go-karting."

Shin Megami Tensei Party! Murder humans in one of five hundred different end of the world scenarios. Atsuro shakes his head slightly as he continues one.

"...So. King of Bel." ...A pause before he asks the important question. "So do you like pull a Belberith and turn into some kinda giant blob with a bunch of moaning heads sticking out in awkward directions? I'm telling you now, I might have to reevaluate our friendship."

Okay, that earned a small snort of laughter from Kazuya. Party game version of the lockdown, yeah, that would be awesomely morbid - a lot more fun than the hell they went through as well. There was nothing better than dressing up awful tragedies in bright colours and glitters and ridiculous mascots.

At the Belberith question though...

Kazuya punched Atsuro's shoulder. "Jerk. No, I don't turn into a freaky blob monster. I- think this is my only form," he said slowly, frowning suddenly. He never thought about having a 'demon' form. He was certain that he just remained human- er, humanoid. There were quite a lot of demons that looked human, after all.

"...Yeah, I had enough trouble keeping my lunch down just fighting Belzaboul. Who wants something like that stuck inside you?" Atsuro sticks his tongue out and makes a face. "Good call there, demon overlord."

Another pause before he asks the slightly less important but infinitely more awkward question. "...So we're still cool, right?" His tone is nonchalant, but the importance of the answer is pretty clear.

"Eh? What?" Kazuya was, admittedly, a bit bewildered by this- that was the question he was going to ask Atsuro. His best friend did just come out as a Demon Overlord after all. A bit of a nasty surprise that. "Of course we're cool. We're practically glaciers we're so cool."

"We're so cool our puns are totally frigid." Atsuro shivers slightly in the accepted mocking fashion. "Hah... I mean. Alright, so you're way more snarky than the guy I'm used to, but..." He shrugs slightly. "I got along with you in your world, so... it's not like I mind or anything."

He pauses again.

"...We get along, right?"

"We get along," Kazuya confirmed, his smirk softening slightly in a small smile. "You stuck by me no matter what in my world, so - you know, I'm really appreciative about that."

He shifted a bit awkwardly then, giving a small cough as he crossed his arms, feigning interest in a far away lantern. Best friends or not, he still felt silly being all sappy like that. "Or something. It'll be fine. You're the same no matter what world it is, it seems like."

Atsuro's stance relaxes at this, an almost imperceptible shift in his muscle tone that makes him appear more at ease The smile that comes to his face now is less guarded. ...That night, the night before he had approached Kazuya with his earnest request, he had told himself that he would respect his friend's decision no matter what he chose. Even if it was the path he disagreed with most.

To become a saint or a demon. Both entailed 'ascending' beyond humanity, giving up what it meant to be human... It was the last thing he had wanted for Kazuya. Reincarnation or no reincarnation, it wasn't fair to put him in a position where he had so much to lose. But at least choosing the path of the saint would put him in the company of the angels, who, on the whole, seemed less keen to kill humans than the demons were. Even so, he had told himself... there were things that mattered beyond all of that. If Kazuya could no longer be human, then Atsuro could be all the more human in his stead. Above all else, what humanity meant was... hope. Belief. Faith. Faith in the values of friendship and trust, faith in those who were dear to you, faith that man had a shining future ahead of him. It was why he believed so strongly in the path that was right to him. And it was why he could believe in Kazuya even if he chose, almost unfathomably, to lead a rebellion against God.

Some might accuse him of being blinded by his loyalty. Others could laud him for his unerring constancy. But regardless of what anyone else thought... he knew why it was that he would believe in Kazuya. And it was a relief to find that it would always be the same way.

He didn't like to think that he would leave his friend behind in any iteration of any world.

"Hey. Someone's got to keep your ego from getting too big." It is Atsuro's turn to mock-punch in a show of manly pretense. "Reincarnation of Abel or not, it's my job to tell the world about that time in 9th grade when your gym shorts fell off on the track." ...That had never actually happened, but Atsuro felt the whole 'different world' thing made it plausible.

Kazuya rolled with the punch, turning to give Atsuro a stunned look. "Wha- what? That never happened to me!"

-in his world. Aw, shit, what if that embarrassing incident did happen in Atsuro's? Keenly, Kazuya felt a twinge of second hand embarrassment. Of course, Atsuro could simply be lying. He would do something like that...

"-I'm pretty sure it was you."

"Yeah, right."

He shakes his head in mock dismay before he covers his mouth for a veiled laugh. "Geez, does being the demon king come with memory loss, too? I've got tons of juicy info to dole out to your subordinates... You know, if you need any incentive to, uh, give your Atsuro a promotion or a raise or anything."

"A raise - like you're being paid," Kazuya snorted. His grin suddenly turned a bit feral, and he gazed at his friend with an expression that could only be described as threateningly mischievous. "Besides, I can always meet your 'juicy info' with something equally embarrassing~"

I would run, Atsuro. Run like the wind.

"H-Hey, you've got nothing on me. I've led a perfectly normal life devoid of any embarrassing incidents. ...Especially nothing related to yakisoba." Atsuro clears his throat slightly as he turns his head to the side. "Anyway, I'm not the one commanding an army here."

Hm, Atsuro had a point there.

Kazuya looked thoughtful for a moment, cocking his head to the side as he rested a hand on his hip. He shook it off with a shrug. "Ah, yeah, but I'm also a king. No one's really going to laugh at me to my face over pantsing shenanigans or anything."

He suddenly chuckled. "Well, you and Loki would...and Naoya..."

Okay so a few people would laugh at him, but they were allowed to.

"Huh." Atsuro is thoughtful for a few seconds. "Well. Since you're OK with it, you'll be OK with me declaring a few new national holidays in celebration of our illustrious ruler, right? Pantsing Day has a nice ring to it."

He snaps his fingers with a sudden insight. "I bet Naoya'd know a lot more embarrassing secrets from when you were a kid."

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Autumn Festival (OPEN)

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