applenet | backdated to 6/29- Losing more than a bet

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backdated to 6/29- Losing more than a bet

Jun Kurosu shax@applenet.net
Shared the following message below:

We've all noticed names that vanish from the app, right? Those who don't make it to the end of the countdown. That can happen to those of us who have, too. It's more extensive than simply leaving the chatroom, though.

I can confirm that Marchosias 29, also known as Okuyasu Nijimura, is, for lack of more descriptive words, gone. Completely gone.

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9: What do you mean by completely gone?
9: People don't just vanish.

[They'd barely spoken, but 29 was a Marchosias the same as him. That meant something...or it was supposed to have.]

I mean exactly as I said.

One day I had a brother, the next it was as if he'd never existed.

[That remark cuts deep and Kouyuki is filled with dread. Could the same happen to Michi and him if he wasn't careful? Was there anything he could really do to stop it from happening if it was going to?]

9: Don't you have proof? Photos or e-mails or phone records? Stuff in his room?

[Vehemently, he tries to reject the idea that family could be...well, erased. Especially if memories of them remained.]

He's vanished from photos, and the texts and emails are gone.
We shared a room.

It's been nearly a week. I tried every avenue I could think of before saying anything.

[All that's left are his own memories... Well, and maybe those of other users. He's not sure. Honestly it hits far too close to home. Is it his fault this time, too?]

[How...?

Is it actually possible to write someone out of existence? To remove their image from photographs, to track down every electronic trace of them and delete it, and to even remove evidence from peoples' homes right from under their noses?

The thought is beyond terrifying...but not near as much as the answer. It has to be possible because it's happening. No one would lie about something this severe, right? And Marchosias 29 hasn't been around. If nothing else, that is real. And scary.

And then there's that business with the dreams. Or...memories. Whatever they were. Maybe they were proof that something like this was possible, too.]

9: I'm sorry.

[It feels somehow wrong leaving it at that, and so Kouyuki adds...]

9: Is there anything I can do to help?

I don't think so. There isn't much that can be done.

If nothing else, I've seen...something similar before. I just didn't think it could happen here. I'll be alright.

[That last sentence is a lie and he knows it, but what else is he supposed to say? The life he had as Lonán was nothing short of perfect. Of course it would be too good to last.]

Edited 2017-07-04 21:42 (UTC)

9: I wouldn't be. If I were in your position, I mean. And that's okay.

[Would he say he was, though? Probably. But he might also want someone to tell him that it was alright to not be fine, too. Because it is, isn't it? It's alright to accept how you feel when you lose someone, especially someone so close. More than that, it's important to acknowledge those feelings. So they don't overwhelm you unexpectedly and...because that's probably what a brother would want. At least, Kouyuki knows he wouldn't want Michi denying anything he felt if...

...no, he can't afford to think like that. Because that won't happen to them. It can't.

He needs to focus on something else. That other thing that was said.]

9: What happened before?

[...Hm. How to put this. It wouldn't be wise to say too much, if this is one of the newer users, and Jun isn't comfortable saying too much about his past in such a public forum anyway. But at the same time....he's an experienced Persona-user among what seems like dozens of newcomers who should probably know what's possible.]

I'm not sure I want to go into much detail, but it was similar. People fading out of memory altogether, with only a few unaffected. The details were different - it wasn't an overnight shift before, and there was something left behind. I haven't found it in this case. Before there was a single person responsible, but that person isn't here.

[Another lie. But it's one he wants to believe.]

9: If they're not here, that's good, right?
9: I mean, that rules out one possibility, at least.

[But what it doesn't do is provide any answers.]

9: What did you do about it before?

It is, but it also means I don't know what's causing it now. I have an idea, but I'd rather not say for fear of being right.

There was nothing we could do, before. Nothing but stop that person. It didn't bring back the lives lost.

9: I see.
9: Then that means it's even more important to find out who *is* behind it and stop them. That way no one else is lost.

[The terms of service had referred to them as a team, and since they were in this together regardless of how much or how little each of them knew, they might as well have each other's backs. Only they could protect each other.]

9: You're not alone. Whoever is responsible, we'll figure it out.

If it's even a person this time. It would be good if it is - a person can be stopped in many ways.

If nothing else, there are an awful lot of us. Many minds are far more powerful than one alone.

9: Yeah.
9: There's a lot of us. As long as we stick together, one person or whatever else doesn't stand a chance.

Positive thinking, is it? That's a good attitude.

[It hurts to type.]

Let's be certain, then. No one else will disappear, we'll stop whoever is behind this, and we'll learn all the answers soon.

[He can't. He shouldn't. He...]

9: Mm. It's a promise.

[...he did.

And now he'll have his work cut out for him trying to keep that promise, too.]

[...A promise. He's made a mistake, here. But she'd like this kind of promise, right? The best he can do is not hold the other to it. Jun knows better than anyone just how little control someone can really have over their own life.]

Promise. We're all in this together.

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backdated to 6/29- Losing more than a bet

Shirou Fubuki ⚔ Marchosias

Jun Kurosu ⚔ Shax

Shirou Fubuki ⚔ Marchosias

Jun Kurosu ⚔ Shax

Shirou Fubuki ⚔ Marchosias

Jun Kurosu ⚔ Shax

Shirou Fubuki ⚔ Marchosias

Jun Kurosu ⚔ Shax

Shirou Fubuki ⚔ Marchosias

Jun Kurosu ⚔ Shax

Shirou Fubuki ⚔ Marchosias

Jun Kurosu ⚔ Shax

Shirou Fubuki ⚔ Marchosias

Jun Kurosu ⚔ Shax

Shirou Fubuki ⚔ Marchosias

Jun Kurosu ⚔ Shax