Midnight Channel

"This world is filled with thick, heavy fog... How can you find something when you know not what you search for?"

There is a popular story in Inaba that states that on rainy nights, alone, one can see their soulmate within the reflection of their turned off television set. Like many things in life, the truth is stranger.

For those with a Persona or a Shadow, the televisions of Inaba form a portal to a strange world, variably called 'the TV World' or the 'Midnight Channel'. This place is typically wreathed in heavy fog, and dangerous entities called Shadows (see Wandering Shadows) can be found roaming in the depths.

Those who land in this place alone invariably end up generating a dungeon based on their repressed desires and thoughts that house their own personal Shadow (see Personal Shadows). By themself, whether one has a Shadow, a Persona, or none at all, death is certain here without an outside rescue.

The unsolved deaths of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi in the spring of 2009, where their lifeless bodies were found dangling from the phone lines and a satellite dish respectively, paint a very definite portrait of the fate that awaits those who go unrescued.

Overview

Why the Midnight Channel exists is not known, nor whether anything is responsible for its creation. It's not even certain how long it has existed. What is certain is that anyone who ends up in there alone will be placed in mortal peril. One person at least has already been known to use the Midnight Channel as a murder weapon, and it's doubtless that others in the years since have followed suit. Luckily, it's possible to prevent the death of an individual lost within by rescuing them.

The main area of the Midnight Channel is called by some 'the Stage'. It resembles a television studio, with walkways and metal frames all over the place. Floodlights are scattered here and there, though they do little but add some diffuse glow to the fog when it is present.

The fog fades in and out within the Midnight Channel. When it is foggy in Inaba, it can be clearer within much of the Midnight Channel. These clearer days are dangerous for people without a Shadow or Persona, though, as they become murderous during these times. The fog also makes the use of special glasses necessary within the Midnight Channel and its dungeons, or else there's very little that can be seen.

One odd quirk of the Midnight Channel is that several victims end up being seen on turned-off television sets at midnight /before/ they're pushed into the set. This seems to only play out for those who have gained a good deal of recent publicity in Inaba's local media, such as a TV interview or a newspaper article written about them. The connection between the two naturally has drawn speculation from some corners. In these cases, the victim's identity can often be discerned long before they vanish, as the picture becomes clearer with each passing night.

The day that an individual vanishes into the depths of the Midnight Channel, a short program airs on the turned-off TV set. Showcasing the victim's Shadow self, it takes the format of a promotional ad, and usually purports to tell 'the truth' about the victim, and often in a highly cruel fashion.

Accessing the Midnight Channel

Any TV within the town limits of Inaba may be an access point to the Midnight Channel--so long as the person attempting it has a Persona or Shadow, and so long as the television is big enough for one to fit their entire body through it. Additionally, even those without a Persona or Shadow can access the Midnight Channel, but only so long as either someone with a Persona or Shadow is touching the screen while they enter, or if a Persona-user or Shadow-Possessed individual forcefully shoves them in.

TVs outside of Inaba, even as much as a few inches, won't work at all. They're simply just like normal TVs.

When someone with a Shadow or Persona touches a TV screen in Inaba, it ripples and becomes more like a semi-viscous liquid to the touch. It's easy, if someone is not prepared for it and doesn't fight against the pull, to become partially or completely sucked in if the TV is big enough. Luckily, it isn't hard to fight back.

Whatever TV set one uses to enter the Midnight Channel determines where they will land. Thus, it's advised that people use the same set each time, as different ones will change where they end up. The nature of the Midnight Channel makes it difficult to find one's way, so changing the point of entry can be needlessly dangerous.

Leaving the Midnight Channel

Leaving the Midnight Channel is impossible by oneself, with a single exception to that otherwise iron-clad rule. If someone can manage to find the pathway, itself well-hidden and dangerous, they can escape the Midnight Channel via a one-way portal Mikage-cho (see Mikage-cho). Mikage-cho is not much of an improvement on matters for most souls endangered by the Midnight Channel, however.

Other people, even rescuers, will need to find help from one of two sources. Teddie naturally will provide an exit under most circumstances, as long as he isn't harassed or abused in the asking. Another resource can be found by those with Personas or Shadows: the healing spring of the money-hungry fairy Trish can also be found in select places within the Midnight Channel. Aside from healing (for an obscenely high price), she'll also provide an exit, but the monetary cost is so great that most people typically prefer to ask Teddie, if they can find him.

Dangers and Threats of the Midnight Channel

There are two main threats within the Midnight Channel: the Shadows that live there, and the navigational difficulties the place presents.

Shadows exist throughout the Midnight Channel, though none are found in the connecting areas between the dungeons, only within the dungeons themselves. Unfortunately, 'within a dungeon' is exactly where those lost in the Midnight end up. For those without a Persona or Shadow, the Shadows within the Midnight Channel are harmless... until the thick fog finally clears. Once that happens, they all go berserk and seek to kill anyone they find.

Wandering Shadows naturally attack Persona-users, and will attack Shadow-Possessed too when the fog clears or if they are attacked by the Shadow-Possessed first. Large and powerful Shadows may also attack the Shadow-Possessed.

Each person who generates a dungeon also generates their personal Shadow, which is also a highly potent threat. More information on these and their behavior can be found in Personal Shadows.

Thick fog obscures vision within the Midnight Channel much of the time. Even with the special glasses, there are significant challenges for people finding their way around. Connections from one area to another are not immediately apparent, and much of the pathways form a maze that loops in on itself.

Spotter-type characters (see Support Persona) also find themselves challenged. Their abilities to detect resonance and use telepathic communication are dampened (but not eliminated). Thus, it can take time to find someone lost down here and it a can also take time to find the shortest pathway to where they and their dungeon are located. On the flip side, the abilities of anti-spotters to hide themselves from resonance detection are amplified greatly, though they experience the same penalty to their telepathic abilities, if they have them.

Thankfully, the sole friendly denizen of the Midnight Channel, Teddie, is adept in finding people, as long as he has one of their personal belongings, and can typically map a path for a rescue party.

Dungeons can also have their own environmental hazards and traps, though this varies from dungeon to dungeon.

Midnight Channel Dungeons

Once someone enters the Midnight Channel alone, as stated above, a dungeon is formed. This happens regardless of whether they have a Persona, Shadow, or none at all. Some immunity is granted to those who have had a dungeon form before, but significant recent stress can cause the Shadow to awaken once more.

Dungeons typically reflect in their construction in some way the core issue that the person has been repressing, and thus vary in their layout and what threats they pose to the would-be rescuers. Some dungeons might generate more traps and tricky mazes and puzzles, while others might be fairly straightforward affairs. Imagery also can change. Some dungeons may reflect very dark things, indeed, while others are more seemingly light-hearted (but no less dangerous).

It's typical to catch snippets of memories or repressed thoughts of the victim while making passage through the dungeon. At the heart itself is usually where one finds the lost victim... and their Shadow.

One peculiar quirk arises when two people (or more!) are forcefully pushed into or made to enter the Midnight Channel in succession, or when one person ends up in there alone to be followed by another, also alone. One dungeon is generated by the first person who entered the Midnight Channel. The secondary person (and tertiary, and so on) who follows does not gain their own individual dungeon, but their Shadow and elements of what their dungeon would have been like are incorporated into the primary dungeon.

Dungeons are located at seemingly random locations within the Midnight Channel. Once their entrance has been located, they may be entered freely. It's strongly suggested that those who want to visit or otherwise use someone else's dungeon again gain OOC permission before doing so.

OOC Tips on Running a Dungeon

Running a dungeon can be somewhat daunting, so here are a few tips for those who would like to run their character's Midnight Channel Dungeon.

First of all, these are the bare essentials that staff needs from you to make things run smoothly (these should be submitted in a +request):

• Tell us the date you're planning to do your dungeon.

• Give us a general idea of what you'd like for your Shadow (and any other armor modes or other staff assistance you might need) so we can create stats and moves for it. Generalities are all that's needed; if you have some particular strategy in mind, this can also be helpful for us.

That's it for staff! Next, here are a few quick general tips for dungeon-running:

• Having a fair amount of relationships, reputation, and/or storybuilding with other characters helps. Involving whoever is able to show up somehow in the dungeon engages the character and the player. Even if you don't have this at your arsenal of possible hooks, try to draw characters (and players!) in. Make it fun both ways!

• It's recommended (but not required!) to schedule out two days for your dungeon. Some players have done their dungeons in one night, but sometimes, it's good to have a day set just in case.

• If you have time and energy, write whatever you can in advance. It could be things like descriptions, attacks, anything you want to not feel pressured about. You may not use any of it, as things are often up in the air, but it does give you time to write out other things like reactions, character-specific hooks, and other things.

• Try choosing times that work out especially for people you want to attend. Sometimes the difference between a big crowd and a small crowd is the time of day!