WEEKS 5 & 6

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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

[strawsandals]

[ If he wasn't trying to stay awake (due to not being in his own room) he'd have probably fallen asleep immediately. But, he hears someone asking him if he's alright, which prompts him to turn his face to the side, just enough to see who's addressing him. His eyes are puffy and tired...?? ]

Uh-huh. I'm fine.

[ He doesn't feel like it's right to tell others about what took place given that it was a highly personal thing, but... ]

Nekyia was just...a little tiring today.

[emptyself]

Is that so? Then maybe it's better if you got rest. See, your eyes are already getting puffy.

[ he has no idea what could be causing that. allergies, maybe? can you catch allergies from pollutions with the monsters? considering how wild everything else has been, soujuurou doesn't push it out of the realm of possibility. ]

I'll make dinner, then. Do you eat onigiri?

[strawsandals]

N-no, they aren't!

[ Nothing is wrong with his eyes! He has no idea what Soujuurou's talking about....... ]

Onigiri- oh. [ Right, he'd remembered seeing those around in the city. Rice balls. ] Yeah, I do. What do you put in it?

[emptyself]

[ in the most friendly and casual tone: ]

I bought some fried crickets. I think they'd be a nice filling.

[strawsandals]

[ This doesn't seem to faze him at all, actually- ]

Did you add any seasoning to them?

[emptyself]

Oh…

[ huh. soujuurou didn’t expect this response.

unsure whether to feel elated or dejected, he shakes his head. ]

I’m sorry, I was just trying to say a joke. I didn’t actually buy crickets, it’s canned tuna that I was going to make tuna mayo with. [ he’ll show his bag— canned tuna, mayo, and a bag of rice. ] The city doesn’t have enough fresh insects to eat and the ones that exist are far dirtier than in the mountains, so I don’t think they’re safe to eat.

[ a beat. ]

But I would have, if I did have crickets.

[strawsandals]

[ A joke that flew completely over his head... Yoon clicks his teeth in embarrassment, oops, but – the rest is a surprisingly resourceful answer. ]

Hmph...that sounds fine, then. I've never had something like that with tuna before, but it sounds like a reasonable combination to me.

[ Go forth, Soujuurou... ]

[emptyself]

[ hm, why do his jokes never land when he wants them to?

still, something that yoon says resonates with soujuurou, almost feeling like a relief to him. ]

I never did either, until I moved to the city. Mayonnaise is this sauce, it's pretty tasty when you mix it with the tuna.

[ he'll show the bottle of mayo to yoon, before putting it back on the bag. ]

It might take a little bit. Is that fine?

[strawsandals]

[ I believe in Soujuurou...one day. ]

I see...it looks kind of thick. I wonder what it's made of. I guess I'll see for myself what it tastes like.

[ He moves to sit up properly, and he nods his head. ]

Yeah, it's fine. Good meals aren't always the quickest to make.

[emptyself]

From what I've seen, you mix egg, oil, and vinegar together and eventually you'll get something like this. It's not too expensive to make, and really good with the tuna.

[ with that and a nod in agreement about how good meals take time, he'll go to the kitchen to prepare the onigiri. luckily, it doesn't mean that he'll be away for too long, but if yoon wants to stop by, then he's more than free to. ]

[strawsandals]

[ He is making a mental note of this. Good thing he's a master at memorization. But Yoon will, indeed, swing on by a little while later and check on Soujuurou's progress. How many is he making? ]

[emptyself]

[ when yoon shows up, soujuurou turns around and smiles at him. his hands are currently balling up what seems to be one of the onigiri-- 6 are already prepared. ]

Sorry it's taking so long. I figured that you'd be hungrier, so I made an extra one for you.

[strawsandals]

Ah- that's...that's really kind of you. Thanks.

[ He's a little flustered. Yoon is so used to playing caretaker that having someone look out for him is kind of nice, actually? ]

[emptyself]

Is it?

[ he cocks his head to the side, curious about yoon's reaction. is it that kind of him to do something like that? ]

You just looked hungry, that's all. [ he'll nudge the plate towards yoon. ] You can start grabbing, if you'd like.

[strawsandals]

[ He'll go ahead and help himself to one, then! Yoon takes a bite out of it, and he immediately tastes the mayonnaise. ]

This is...

[ Whoa. ]

This mayonnaise is a really unique combination! I wouldn't have even thought of a way to make a flavor like this. It goes really well with the tuna, too!

[emptyself]

It is, isn't it? I had a similar reaction, too, the first time I tried it.

[ done building the seventh, soujuurou goes to wash his hands before grabbing an onigiri for himself. ]

I would have never been able to make something like this in the mountains. Over there I'd fill it with maybe minced fish from the river, cooked insects, or have it plain, but there's something really hearty about this combination. [ he smiles, watching the young man continue to eat. ] I'm glad you like it.

[strawsandals]

Oh, probably not. I don't think I would've been able to either, unless I stopped by a town or ran across a merchant that carried these.

[ He gets it, man. He gets it! ]

You weren't a city person, either? So...did you teach yourself how to cook?

[emptyself]

Yeah, I'm... from a village that people would say is pretty deep in the mountains, so we had to learn how to harvest and prepare simple meals.

[ because it would be inefficient to waste your time cooking elaborate meals, especially when there is always something to be done. ]

Is that the same with you?

[strawsandals]

I see.

[ Is it the same with him? Well, in a way, yeah. ]

To an extent, I suppose, but that's because our village was pretty much abandoned. No one was taking care of it, so we didn't have very much. Many of us starved...and many of us perished.

[emptyself]

I see. That must have been really difficult for you.

[ in a way, it was similar with soujuurou. he lived a simple life, because there was nothing to have up in the mountains. you can't lack something if you've never had it in the first place. ]

Living in the mountains sure is tough, isn't it? If it's not finding food, it's having to hunt animals or making sure that you're not the one being hunted. In comparison, living here is like a dream.

[strawsandals]

It was, but...someone saved my life. I no longer had to live that sort of life after I met him.

[ Which he considers himself very, very grateful for. ]

Living here is like a dream, you're right. Even if it's noisy and busy, I'm grateful we have so much available to us. I'm not ashamed of the life I used to live, but I'm thankful for the one I have now.

[emptyself]

[ oh...

something about that stings soujuurou deeply, in a way that he knows was not intentional. nonetheless, it smarts and he doesn't really know what to do with that pain other than take another bite of his meal, his expression only shifting to something a little more thoughtful. ]

That's the most surprising part, isn't it? Going from having to work for everything to being able to have it at the tip of your fingers. I mean, don't get me wrong, back at home I had to work two or more jobs and other odd jobs here and there to make ends meet. But even then, everything is so much more convenient, that I almost can't believe it's real.

[strawsandals]

Ah? That sounds like a lot of work, but I understand.

[ Yoon's never had a "job" – the most he's done was make things in exchange for something to eat. It's how he stayed alive for a period of time in his life. ]

I didn't think I'd meet someone who lived a similar lifestyle here. Most people seem...different from me.

[emptyself]

It’s not that different from the mountains. Over there, you also had to walk a bunch of kilometers for food and make traps and tend to the land, right? Those are jobs too, I’ve realized.

[ and because the hard labor is so similar to his previous life, soujuurou doesn’t see much issue with it. it’s only problematic when he has to use things like the cash registers, but a job of simply selling food or cleaning plates was hardly difficult for him.

he nods in agreement to yoon’s statement, empathetic. ]

Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone like myself either. I think even some that say they’re rural might as well be from huge cities to me. [ he chuckles despite himself. really, city folk have no idea just what the mountains truly means. ] But they’ve been kind so far, so hopefully the change won’t be too tough on you.

[strawsandals]

You're right. That's hard work in itself.

[ He understands, even if his village may have been very different from the one Soujuurou grew up in. One thing is for sure, though, and that's the fact that neither of them are quite suited for the "city". Yoon is probably more excited about seeing it than Soujuurou is, though. ]

And I find it a little exciting, even if it's noisier. I've always wanted to travel the world -- and I'm doing it now, back at home. This feels like a journey to me, in that sense.