WEEKS 5 & 6

[linkupmods]

WEEKS 5 & 6

THE CALM BEFORE...

The city has more or less bounced back after the disastrous Go-Kart race. While there are still some people recovering, no one’s hospitalized and there were thankfully no casualties - although there were more injuries than might have been expected, on accounts of some brawls that broke out among the competitors and the audience.

In spite of that, the Shopping District is feeling distinctly friendlier these days. Shopkeepers will take notice of repeat customers and be openly happy to see the better-behaved ones. They may even cut characters a discount on the sly for their patronship!

Perhaps as a result, the Nekyia Shopping District has become clear of haze much like the Nekyia dormitory started. While Shadows still lurk there, they are much fewer in number. Should characters choose to explore some more, they will find that the haze has become thinner in the Nekyia Entertainment District, allowing them to work on cleaning out the various Shadows that reside in that area.

WHAT THE FLUFF.

Meanwhile, back at the dormitory…

…trouble is amiss, but the fun kind of trouble.

On Sunday, September 1st, it seems like there's an event for pets being hosted at the parks near the dorm! That's fine and dandy, but the trouble comes from owners being careless and letting their animals run loose. That's right, some of them have been given free rein to explore, and a number of them have taken a liking to the dormitory!

You might be able to blame Dawn – that cat from the Nekyia who also appears to give you strange items! – because she's got bowls of cat food around her that she's feasting on. It's attracted some pet cats and strays alike. As for the dogs, well, they like people. Enough said.

Why not treat yourself to some animal therapy while you can? And if not, wrangling any animals that manage to get free works too!

SUMMER DAYS.

As summer break draws to a close, the Arcade is desperate to not only redeem its reputation, but also squeeze the last bit of pocket change out of people while they’re still on vacation. As a result, there is an ongoing discount on point cards allowing people to play competitive arcade games - Classics like Mirmo Kart and Street Slayer, as well as shinier rhythm games like Dancerun Stardom and LaiLai Universe Plus!

Of course, the hope is that characters drawn in by the arcade games will stick around for the other offerings - karaoke, bowling, ufo catchers, and even a bar (for those 21+!) And if none of these attractions are enough to catch a character’s eye, there’s plenty of other activities to be found in Carnation Court. Besides the restaurants and bars, there are many themed pop-up cafés and events, and even a few empty buildings with a very reasonable lease fee, should someone want to run an event of their own...

While the mood isn’t as open and friendly as the shopping district, it’s still worth a visit to relax and unwind a bit, preferably alongside Braphine’s other chosen. After all, there are Shadows looming on the horizon...

MESSAGE FROM YOUR RA!

Huh...? That's weird. It looks like a really big Shadow took up residence in the Nekyia. Hold on, I'll set things up so the app will give you the coordinates! Could you please check it out?

COMMISSIONS

NEKYIA COMMISSIONS

FETCH QUEST

I messed up…Mom's gonna be so mad at me for losing track of her dog at that event…

There's a shadow in the Nekyia that's taken the form of a Level 25 Nue. It seems to be growling in despair, and echoing the thoughts of this commissioner. Apparently this person lost his mother's dog at the event and hasn't made an effort to find it yet. Fight the Nue and try to knock some sense into this guy, either by shaking some sense into him or by defeating him; they've got a dog to find, after all.

YOU KNOW THAT WE'RE TOXIC

Leave, Braphine. Leave this world to the people. We don't need anyone. We've only got ourselves.

Seems like someone who might be involved with the vandalism incident might have a shadow here, too, in the form of a Level 24 Mokoi. She sounds like she's going to do something more extreme to the place if she isn't stopped. However, be careful… characters hit with Dazzler from this particular Shadow cannot be cured with magic, and must instead be healed by another person’s touch. It’s time to get cozy with your companions.

GET HEE OUTTA HERE

A powerful Shadow has appeared in the Nekyia and needs to be eliminated asap! Black Frost is a tenacious (if cute?) little guy, and can only be fought after taking down three Level 28 Jack Frosts beforehand. Make sure you ration out your spiritual energy and healing spells, this little Shadow can pack a real punch, being at Level 30! That said, for those who manage to defeat him, he should drop a mascot trading card. Turn this in to the priest or priestess at the temple to unlock a bonus new skill for your Persona!

(OOC: Please turn in your threads for this commission on the rewards page to unlock the new skill, which is separate from your leveling skillset! You may select one elemental skill for light damage to apply permanently to your character's persona. When turning in the skill will be effective immediately once rewarded.)

REAL WORLD COMMISSIONS

FINE DINING

Various restaurants, from fast food and fast casual grub to the fine dining establishments in Carnation Court are trying to outdo each other in terms of promotion, and as such are on the prowl for any free hands to help entice potential customers with free samples and food challenges galore. Grab a buddy and help hawk some bite-sized treats! Or maybe try to beat the record for the biggest burger ever eaten, if you dare.

ALL HANDS ON STAGE

A number of performers were involved in the Go-Kart incident and have yet to fully recover enough to do their parts for the show! For the next two weeks, the Sunset Grand Theater is looking for understudies for roles, as well as stage hands who are willing to ninja around and maneuver props and sets for the actors. The production is a fanciful tale of starcrossed lovers, evil stepmothers, political feuds, and for some reason, a dragon.

PREPARE THE PETS

The pet store in Vermillion Village is looking for some volunteers to help socialize the pets through playtime, as well as feed some of the more persnickety ones. Those who want to pet some adorable balls of fluff and energy can work with the kittens, puppies, and bunny rabbits, while those who are brave enough can try their hand at feeding the reptiles their meals of live crickets and frozen rats.

OOC

READ ME!!!!

Welcome to your log for Weeks 5 and 6! Feel free to use this log for any developments that happen during the next two weeks. There will be no log next week, but we will still be posting a small mini-event on Saturday.
For plotting, please feel free to head over to this post on the OOC comm to post your plotting top levels.
For Nekyia commissions, you can assume that the Shadows will respawn until they've been beaten enough times to go back to normal.
Palaces start this week! Please refer to the Palace schedule here and sign ups for this week's capped Palace here

ic comm | inboxes | ooc comm | full nav

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Comments

[townmusician]

arrival;
[Lots of new teenage boys in this place, huh? Haruka is one of them, but he doesn't really stand out unless green hair is strange to some people. Or he at least hopes he isn't standing out, because it's taken a bit to process the fact that he's been isekai'd into some weird... other world. He got a run down on things, sure, and he's seen enough to accept this is real and not just some super elaborate prank show he got kidnapped into...

Well. At least he didn't die to get here like all the shitty isekai his classmates talked about. (Or he at least doesn't remember any speeding trucks or buses...)

He adjusts to life pretty quickly—people might notice the new kid as he cooks for himself (and only himself, he's not nearly as generous as Yoon) in the kitchen, or see him practicing in the training area with a katan he seems both comfortable with and unsure of... or even in the Nekyia, testing out his skills against some of the lower level enemies. The Persona hanging around him seems to be a mermaid, quietly floating behind him as he fights shadows.]

summer days, obligatory idol karaoke edition;
[There's something very, very strange about a karaoke place with unfriendly staff. The standoffish nature of everyone Haruka runs into in the entertainment district is definitely weird—it's very different to hear that people are acting strangely because of weird god stuff and another thing entirely to experience it first hand.

He's not going to let standoffishness stop him from nosing through all of the songs on offer, brows knit in plain confusion as he cycles through.]

What is all of this junk?

[Some of the titles seem... almost familiar? In the same way that WcDonald's is familiar. You know what they're going for, but that doesn't mean it's the same thing.]

Tch. This isn't worth my time.

[...Even if he does kind of want to sing, doing karaoke by yourself is really lame. Right? Maybe someone else will stop by and he can casually ask them... So it's fine if he stays and hovers awkwardly around... Right??]

fine dining;
[It's a wonderful day, and Haruka is stopping you in your tracks as you mosey on down the sidewalk. There's a bakery nearby—one of those trendy ones with incredibly #aesthetic treats—and Haruka is armed with flyers. Seems he's decided to pick up one of the commissions, and now he has to do his best.]

There's a discount on desserts if you buy two or more items.

[And, with absolutely no subtlety despite his best efforts, he continues on.]

...If you don't think you can eat that many, I'll take one and help split the cost.

[baby want snack]

all hands on stage;
[This production seems... strange. Haruka's flipped through the script a million times, it feels like, but he just doesn't get how all of this ties together. The dragon just comes out of nowhere, the romance is cringy (at least in his opinion), and the evil stepmothers are just kind of cartoonishly evil... Saying that, he wouldn't mind doing a role so campy. He hasn't been on the stage in a play or musical since moving back to Japan, so it's partly nostalgia and partly wanting rewards that has him even bothering in the first place.

Still, one man does not a play make.]

Hey, do you want to do some line reads together?

[Even if you're just here to help with the stage, you've got no reason to decline!! Or at least that's what Haruka thinks. He doesn't need to act off someone good, he just needs to memorize the lines.]

wildcard and miscellaneous;
[Haruka can also be found playing with all the animals as part of the Prepare the Pets commission, but I didn't want to make this even longer writing out a top level of him playing with animals. Just know he's very happy to help in this instance.

Also, feel free to come at me with any other thing you can thing of! My arms are open, my inbox... also open!! If you wanna make plans before starting a thread, just hit me up in the usual places.]

all hands on stage.

[emptyself]

Line...reads?

[ soujuurou had been there to help set up the place. he's strong and proactive, so it was without much question that they would want to keep him around to set up the stage. he had been everywhere backstage, like a busy worker ant, but now that he had a moment to stop and take a break, he's being asked to...read a line?

...?

he looks around. then back at haruka. ]

Are you sure? I'm not an actor.

[townmusician]

Yeah, line reads.

[Haruka's face screws up, but it's hard to tell if it's from disdain or something else. (It's confusion, because how does someone not even know the term...?)

Anyways, he waves away Soujuurou's protest(?).]

You don't need to know how to act. It's just to help me know what my cue is.

[Picking up on that is easier when you can hear it!!! Gosh. It's like this guy knows nothing.]

[emptyself]

Your cue...

[ something about it still sounds foreign and odd to soujuurou, who's only really stuck to documentaries than anything else. acting is a completely different beast. ]

Well, if you say I can help even without knowing, then I'll help you out. [ he nods, blissfully unaware of haruka's confusion. ] I'll read what you want.

[townmusician]

...You're really out of place, huh.

[He (gently!) slaps the script in his hand against Soujuurou's chest, gesturing to a spot that's out of the way of the other people bustling around backstage.]

I marked off my lines, so you're playing the other character in the scene.

[He makes sure to nab another script on their way over, just in case things start going south.]

[emptyself]

[ well, haruka, he was fitting in perfectly when he was working backstage, moving crates for props and whatever. but acting? he can't act his way out of a paper bag.

he takes the script so gently slapped on his chest, scanning over it for a minute or so before nodding to himself, a small smile on his face. ]

Okay, I think I understand now. Start whenever you're ready.

[townmusician]

[Skill issue.]

Alright.

[And that's the only warning Soujuurou gets as Haruka launches into the scene, spare script tucked under his arm. He's got his lines memorized, but i'm not clever on the fly so we can just imagine what he's saying. Maybe he's playing the dragon. Either way, he does know how to act, unfortunately.

Anyways. Your turn, Soujuurou.]

[emptyself]

[ as soujuurou watches haruka say his line, it almost feels like it’s a sort of spell for him. in his time in the city, he’s watched one documentary at most, and that had no acting.

nevertheless, to him, who barely knows haruka, the idol might as well have become another person entirely. even for that short line, it’s as if a spell had been cast on the young man.

it takes a second for him to react, once it’s over, as he pulls the script closer to read… ]

Um…

[ right. right, his line. as he starts, he’s… basically reading it. unlike haruka who can get into the character, soujuurou is doing little more than reading, the same way that he would do in school. do not hire him for acting. ]

[townmusician]

[His "acting" is as stiff as Haruka was expecting, but he at least reads the right lines even if the way he reacts is strange. It's strange enough that Haruka doesn't immediately reply with his line, curious about what that was all about.]

Is something wrong?

[r u ok mountain boy]

training area

[strawsandals]

[ Oh, hey, it's Haruka. Yoon happened to be passing by when he sees Haruka holding his katana like a complete amateur. Geez...what was the Goddess thinking? At least give Haruka something nice and easy to handle if he's not a combatant.

Whatever. Yoon approaches - ]

Your stance is off.

[ Right off the bat. He sounds sure of it, too...? ]

[townmusician]

I know that!

[Oooh, someone's feeling defensive. Haruka scowls at the sword in his hands, huffing to himself.]

I've only ever handled prop swords before... This is so stupid.

[strawsandals]

...

[ Yeah. Haruka, to Yoon, is someone who is entirely unequipped to handle a weapon of any kind as he is now. ]

The Goddess doesn't understand that you can't just expect people to handle weapons haphazardly. People who aren't prepared to kill shouldn't be forced to wield them.

[ That sure is a series of words coming from a fifteen-year-old kid, huh. ]

Still, you'll need to learn how to use it. I can help.

[townmusician]

[Wait, wait, hold on a second—]

What do you mean kill? We're not fighting, like, people—

[...Right?]

[strawsandals]

No, of course not. But there are monsters down there that we will need to take care of.

[ No people. ... For now. ]

Still, the locals can be really hostile. You'll need to be ready to defend yourself at the very least.

[townmusician]

[FOR NOW, THEY SAID, KNOWING HOW JORDI'S PALACE WAS GOING TO END!!!!!!!!]

Defending yourself with a sword is kind of overdoing it, isn't it? You'd hurt them really badly.

[strawsandals]

[ :haha: ]

...Is it?

[ SEE: FANTASY WORLD WHERE SWORDS ARE NORMAL...not commonplace but not abnormal either. ]

fine dining

[finalmix]

[ immediately: ] I want the one with strawberries, then.

[ when you can't manipulate the economy you unfortunately have to settle for discounted treats ]

[townmusician]

[sounds rough, buddy]

...Let's get two with strawberries. It looks like the best thing they have.

[And Haruka doesn't have enough money (yet!! hopefully this gig pays off well...) to splurge on multiple trips here, okay.]

Stage

[kandata]

Certainly. What will be your focus?

[Memorization, trying to detect the cues, practicing intonation...there are so many things a perfectionist like Kirumi can think are worth practicing]

[townmusician]

Memorization. This isn't a work I'm familiar with, and I'm not about to look like an amateur on stage.

[He's too proud to let that kind of stuff happen to him, honestly.]

[kandata]

I accept your request. [Time to help you memorize your lines! Kirumi decides to do things with the perfectionist ways she's used to. She extends a hand]

May I? So I can see who you will bounce your lines off in this scene.

[She's no actress, but if you'll do something, do it right -- and the way she'll do it right is by at least memorizing another character's lines temporarily]

[townmusician]

Of course.

[He hands the script over—he's highlighted his part, and it seems like he's playing the part of the random dragon.]

Just start whenever and I'll roll with it.

[kandata]

[Kirumi reads a few pages of the script, mouthing the lines that don't belong to her. Oh, this is...this sure is going to be a play]

I believe I got it. Here. [She passes the script back] Let's start from the top. I will start in three seconds.

[Having given that warning, Kirumi takes a few steps back, breathes deeply, and begins.

She's not making the acting, she's just reciting the lines, but she gives it the right inflections, imitating what will be heard on stage. Somehow, she managed to memorize all those lines]

[townmusician]

[The memorization isn't too shocking, but Haruka spent a not insignificant amount of his life around people who act for a living. Some people are just quick on the uptake.

Those people also tend to actually act, but the bland reading is good enough.

He responds with his lines, not bothering to go all out. How the lines should be acted will depend on who he'll be acting off of on the stage itself, so getting too into it would be a waste of energy. This is about making sure he's got his cues memorized, at least.

It's clear that he's done this quite a bit, Kirumi getting to be one of the few people who see him in his element instead of, like, yelling at people over stupid nonsense.]

[kandata]

[Once there's some practice, Kirumi tilts her head a little, approving]

You seem rather used to this. Have you done anything in the field of entertainment before?

[Are you another idol? We have like seventy!]