WEEK 4

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WEEK 4

READY, STEADY, GO-KARTS!

After a harrowing week of forced honesty and a surprise attack from the God of Conflict, it seems the Goddess’ “gift” has finally faded - and just in time! Today marks the date of the highly anticipated Go-Kart Race, featuring a whopping twelve teams from the Goddess’ picks and a number of teams comprised of locals. Fortunately the weather is holding up well for the event, with clear skies and a radiant sun beating down on all contestants as they wait to begin, the heat reflecting off the asphalt. Hopefully everyone thought to use sunscreen!

The local arcade has decked out the go-kart track in flags representing the different teams, and some local businesses have set up both a spectator stand area near the finish line, as well as kiosks selling snacks and drinks for the spectators and anyone who happens to wander by! There are also some midway fair game booths and portable game machines if you're not really here for the go-karts and just here for a fun afternoon out. The best part is that everyone who enters the event zone gets three free tokens courtesy of the arcade, so you've got nothing to lose~ Unless you do happen to lose, which means that you'll probably have to purchase more tokens from the distracted teenagers volunteering manning the admin booth.

ALL'S WELL THAT-- HUH?

Eventually, all the preamble is completed, and it’s time for the race! A light counts down from red to yellow to green, and the racers are off!

While the start of the race is a jumble, a few in particular begin to pull ahead of the pack: Spade of the Sea and Kururu and Schneider in particular! Tragically, Team Bloody Angels just can’t seem to get the speed they want and seem to get stalled by various traps, falling further and further behind…

In the middle of the bunch, Atem and Sunrise manage to maintain their speed, while THE CUTIE PATOOTIES, Fire’n Ice, and Aaron and Morgan all struggle to surpass each other - leaving Beautiful, Bright Knights of Lovely Radiance, and Exquisite Midnight Shimmering unfortunately trapped behind the three and unable to pass at all. Towards the back of the group, Badass Ladies compete directly with TEAM ROADKILL for their place, while Frieren and Arven have a leisurely drive by comparison.

The first and second laps go without incident. But on the third…

Something about the local teams changes. Instead of the regular frustration of losing, some of them seem to fall into, well, road rage.

Schneider and Kururu, nearly caught up to Hiiro and Jordi, find their hopes dashed as a woman in a blue bandana bumps them from behind - the impact enough to cut their engine for a moment too long, allowing Hiiro and Jordi to pass the finish line in first place without any trouble.

The middle of the pack gets the worst of it. Jesse and Mafuyu find themselves hounded by a woman in aviators who manages to ram into their Go-Kart hard enough to dent the guard, putting pressure on the wheel - while they cross at the same time as others, they are unable to steer the Go-Kart due to the damages, and find themselves ramming into guardrail. While Mafuyu is miraculously without injury, Jesse takes the brunt of the force and will be feeling that whiplash the next day.

Aaron and Morgan get a brick - a literal brick - chucked at them, and while they manage to avoid getting hit themselves, they have to do a violent swerve to do so. That’ll also be a bit of whiplash for them, too. Badass Ladies get sideswiped by one of the locals and their kart ends up grinding against one of the guardrails. Eek.

The real destruction, however, hits the back end of the group - a man in yellow sneakers manages to bash hard into Eli and Kirumi, pushing them off course. The impact causes them to bump into Aerith and Maika along the way, who lose control of the steering wheel and knock Fray and Argenti into the wall. Fray sustains injuries as he’s dragged against the wall for a moment until Argenti is able to right their path again, pulling them back into the middle of the course. Eli and Kirumi don’t get off so easily, either - the bump against Aerith and Maika isn’t enough to stop their momentum, and Eli cracks his right shoulder against a barrier as Kirumi hits the brakes to prevent further injury. Fray, Argenti, Eli, and Kirumi will be feeling whiplash the next day.

Braphine’s chosen aren’t the only victims, either - a woman with red combat boots and a man in a green jacket each crash into local competitors, and the result is a six-kart pileup.

Frieren and Arven and Team Bloody Angels witness all of this from the back of the race, though neither team can do much except to continue on to the finish line.

What should have been a celebration at the end instead turns into panic as medics are called onto the scene and emergency personnel are summoned to the track. While many of the people in the stands seem roiling with discontent and beginning to argue and fight over the cause of all these injuries, a few of the locals hurry down to the course to help. Schneider, Aaron, Argenti, Aerith, Eli, and Kirumi will find themselves aided by familiar faces - the boutique staff recognized them and are here to lend them and their partners a hand in getting treated for their injuries.

As the racetrack descends into chaos, it soon becomes difficult to keep track of everyone. However, Hiiro, Schneider, Sally, Morgan, Argenti, Aerith, Frieren, and Celeste all notice a figure in a strangely ancient hood standing among the stands, a fierce grin on their face - before the figure turns and disappears into the crowd.

Mina - having come to spectate and cheer on everyone from the stands - gets a rather panicked look on her face as she watches it all unfold. She quickly takes out her phone and begins typing frantically at it, before hitting “send.”

All at once, all of Braphine’s chosen will hear their phones begin to beep.

CALL FOR HELP.

I've added emergency commissions to the app - please take them on if you are able to/need to!

We can get through this if we all work together. So, please... look out for each other out there, okay?

COMMISSIONS

HELPING HAND

Please help the injured! Even if it's as small as first-aid or comforting a scared child who's gotten lost in the aftermath of the go-kart crash, any little bit of help would be appreciated by the overwhelmed medical staff at the scene! Unless you’re already injured, in which case, please allow yourself to be tended to!

(OOC note: For clarity, this commission reward applies both to characters who are helping the injured and those who are injured in the thread!)

HOLY HEALING

The hospital is going to need more supplies. For those who are strong enough, please seek out Archangel Shadows in the Nekyia. They should drop blessed feathers - these feathers then can be taken to Braphine’s Temple, and the priest or priestess there should be able to turn them into medicine for the injured.

RACETRACK REPAIRS

In the aftermath of the go-kart pileup and everything associated with it, it's time for people who are good with their hands to roll up their sleeves and help the locals with repairs - clear the debris off the track and make sure the way is clear for the emergency vehicles and construction crews who need to access the site!

OOC

READ ME!!!!

• Welcome to your Week 4 event log! While this log covers the go-kart race and its immediate aftermath, please feel free to use this log to thread out anything else happening during the week after and we will see you next week for the Week 5 event!
  
• Note to all go-kart participants that there has been some shuffling in the team compositions due to player drops as well as Everything That Happened on Friday. Regardless, you can claim event participation gacha rewards if you signed up and have one thread of at least 10 comments with a go-kart related prompt on this post.
  
• Archangel stats and information have been added to the bestiary!
  
• AC is due end of the month! Make sure you get that in~
  

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Comments

[gardenful]

You don't think so?

[ It's nice to get a reassurance, especially from someone that's as sharp and blunt as Maika. There's a small smile on her face, though it's just for a brief second, before her brows furrow again. ]

I feel like I need to explain why I feel so... conflicted over all of this. Sad, but not too sad. Angry, but not that angry.

[ And none of it really directed toward Argenti either. All she's ended up with is a flurry of emotions in her chest that she doesn't know what to do with. ]

[bloodandstars]

[ Hey, she saw that smile. Someone fluent enough in Maika microexpressions might catch that her own face softens for a second in return. ]

You don't need to know how you feel in a day, or a week. A wound dealt in a moment can be years or lifetimes in the healing. But you already know that, don't you?

[ She's been through much more than she let on behind her sunny smiles, from the sound of it. ]

[gardenful]

[ She's spent enough time around Cloud, who does his best to be Too Cool that she notices that little shift, though just barely. ]

Sure do. It's kinda funny, really, isn't it? You think you're over something, then you meet someone or hear something that makes you feel everything all over again.

[ Fuyu calling escaped research subjects "failures" or something like it, for one. ]

But it's a good thing too, in a way. It reminds us that even the good things can still have an affect on us years down the line.

[ That's how she's trying to see it, and it's worked well enough for her so far. ]

[bloodandstars]

...Mm. The past just becomes part of our bones. Even if you could forget it, you can't escape what's inside of you.

[ That's Trauma for you. Although this time, Maika doesn't try to refute the more optimistic comment from Aerith. She gives a little nod. ]

My mother used to say something like that. "The world breaks us all. But strength can flow from those broken places. Made new, in ways we never dreamed." Maybe she just wanted to believe that it all wasn't such a fucking waste. But I still think she's right.

[gardenful]

[ She clasps her hands together in front of her, almost as if in some sort of prayer. Something so hopeful yet realistic... it reminds her of her own mother, in a way. ]

I like that. We're able to do things we never thought we could after certain hardships. It really doesn't feel like it at the time, but maybe in a few years you'll find yourself looking at the horizon and appreciating it in a way you never would've before... seeing things you wouldn't have even a couple of months ago.

[ That's certainly the case for her. ]

It's not exactly strength exactly, but I think it's close enough anyway.

[bloodandstars]

[ Aerith picked just the right evocative comparison to make. The memory of gazing at the horizon and the first time that it seemed more full of promise than the crushing weight of past and future burdens comes back in a rush, and Maika lets out a brief sigh. ]

It's strength. Moving forward, waking up each day and choosing to feel things, to remember, and not flinch from the future anyway... what would that be except strength? That's what living is.

[ Anyway. That's enough philosophy from her. Maika gives an awkward shrug and hunches a little more into her coat as she casts a quick quelling look around to make sure no one else is within earshot to catch any of that. ]

...Well, if something comes up for you later and you need an ear... you know where to find me. Whatever you're feeling, I can promise, I've heard worse.

[gardenful]

[ That pulls a little smile from her. Living is strength, huh? She supposes it is, with the way others carry on despite how difficult it may be. Just doing that... it takes a lot of willpower.

Maika must not be used to talking about her feelings so publicly though, with the way she looks around to see who else might be listening. It's what makes her offer all the more surprising. ]

You're sure about that? I really might take you up on that offer, you know.

[bloodandstars]

[ Angry feelings like trying to verbally shred Argenti like a cat tower earlier? Not a problem. These feelings, though, aren't for public consumption. Aerith just changed the equation by saying what she did before. ]

I wouldn't offer if I weren't sure. Trust me. I'm not that kind.

[ She's trying to be... something. But she's sure whatever it is doesn't qualify for that label. ]

[gardenful]

You seem pretty nice to me.

[ Despite that she’s rough around the edges. But Aerith thinks there’s kindness everywhere, even if one has to dig deep to find it.

It’s why she can’t condone Fuyu’s death. ]

Then… I’ll find you when you least expect it! Or probably later tonight.

[ Because who knows if she’ll be able to sleep. ]

[bloodandstars]

[ Maika shoots her an incredulous look — sheer force of habit, because in these circumstances, she can't follow it up with the kind of dismissal she'd usually give. ]

...Wolves keep night hours. Drop by whenever, you won't wake me up.

[ And if Aerith surprises her, well. She'll take that as her feeling a little better. Maybe. ]

[gardenful]

[ Aerith smiles, soft around the edges. ]

Keep an ear out, then. I might come knocking.

[bloodandstars]

I will. Wolves have sharp ears, too.

[ And she will, in fact, be keeping a watchful eye out for visitors later. The door might even not be closed. ]

[gardenful]

[ That makes her laugh, just a little. ]

Good. Keep 'em sharp.