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

[emptyself]

[ at some point in the morning, soujuurou is headed to train with the dummies, but is stopped in the his tracks the moment he spots yoon.

it’s those eyes again, which cause him to pause and observe the young man from a distance.

and after a while, he calls out: ]

Is everything alright?

[strawsandals]

[ He momentarily pauses to glance at the person addressing him.

A few days ago, he didn't want to look at Soujuurou like this again – but he is here now, giving him the same stare as before. No remorse.

He goes back to the dummies and keeps striking. ]

[emptyself]

[ soujuurou doesn't mind being glared at. he's been glared at countless times since coming down from the city, from both alice, aoko, and a multitude of both bosses and customers alike.

what unsettles the him, however, is the feeling of wrongness that yoon's look gives. something is clearly wrong, and soujuurou doesn't know what to do to solve it. ]

Yoon. [ he tries again, voice level. he doesn't know how to help, but he doesn't feel like he can stand there and watch either. ] What's wrong?

[strawsandals]

What's it to you?

[ His voice is low and alarmingly hostile. He doesn't stop his training, either. ]

Does it matter? We barely know each other.

[ Which is true - they are still newly met - but they'd just been through a lot together, with the others. That sure is a statement and a half from someone who spent his first day cooking for everyone. ]

[emptyself]

You're not wrong.

[ despite those facts, soujuurou nods in agreement with yoon's declaration. yoon barely knows soujuurou, and soujuurou barely knows yoon. one meal and witnessing a death won't change much, in the grand scheme of things. it wasn't like that in the city, and it absolutely wasn't like that in the mountains.

nonetheless, he doesn't move. ]

But I want to get to know you. [ quick and straight to the point-- there's no reason to hold back or beat around the bush, especially when the two of them seem to see eye to eye on many things. ] And it's our job to form bonds to help this city. So I'll do just that, by making a bond with you, Yoon.

[strawsandals]

Don't.

[ He says it with conviction. It's like he's an entirely different person from the one who ate Soujuurou's onigiri, the one who cried over Jordi and Aubrey. ]

The Goddess' goal is awful. No one owes each other companionship. People are just better off being alone.

[ ...? ]

[emptyself]

...

[ ... ]

In the mountains it might work that way, but in the modern cities that's not the case. [ he shakes his head. unlike yoon's sudden burst of cold anger, soujuurou's voice is level. calm. it always has been, and it still is now. ] Everyone depends on each other to survive down here. You won't be able to survive on your own, no matter how physically strong you are.

[strawsandals]

I've done it for years. I can handle myself.

[ He sounds certain about that, too, even though Soujuurou is right. Yoon doesn't think so, though. ]

Worry about yourself.

[emptyself]

....

[ he really should just leave yoon alone, shouldn't he? clearly there's something dangerous about him, and the best thing to do would be to steer far away from him.

however. ]

I am worried for myself. [ lies. he's not worried about himself even in the slightest. ] That's why I want to know why your personality switched so suddenly. Are you mad at me?

[strawsandals]

I'm not mad at you.

[ He finally stops hitting the dummy when he says that, and he lowers his pin, turns to look at Soujuurou with a look that is still dark but more distant than anything else, now.

Violence was the answer.

Ĩ̶̝t̸͇͊ ̴͓̑a̸̺͋l̸̼̎ẉ̸͋ȧ̷̱y̴̙̕s̷͔̃ ̷̥̇ḧ̵́ͅa̴̖͑ș̴͝ ̴͓͑b̵̙͝ȅ̶̱é̶̯ń̶̢.̸̘͂ ]

I'm mad that we're fighting for nothing.

[emptyself]

So it is about Jordi's death.

[ he remembers how badly affected yoon was by his death, so it's not difficult to imagine that he would still be upset by it. ]

Then what are you training to fight against?

[strawsandals]

[ ... ]

I'm training so the next time won't be for nothing.

[emptyself]

It's not like that god was there for a long time. Unless you're really quick to throw a rock at it or something, I doubt that you'd be able to get a hit at it.

[ he looks at the bag, and then at yoon. ]

Hitting a bag is not going to make you feel less powerless.

[strawsandals]

[ Soujuurou is right. Everything he's saying is right and somewhere, deep down, perhaps Yoon knows it.

But he seems easy to provoke today, doesn't he? Hmm. ]

You really need to leave, Soujuurou.

[emptyself]

I think there's something you're scared about.

[ if there wasn't, yoon wouldn't be practically begging him to leave. soujuurou can't help but be reminded of the animals in the mountains, who bare their fangs and puff up to threaten any enemies. ]

Honestly, I wish you would tell me what it is instead of being vague and aggressive about it. I'm not going to fight you nor am I going to let you fight me, but...

[ he'll take a step away, signaling that he'll back off. ]

Just know that you can depend on others. They helped me out earlier and I think they can help you, too.

[strawsandals]

[ Scared? Scared?

... ]

I meant it. Leave me alone. All of you should. I didn't ask to be here nor did I ask to be a pawn in that stupid goddess' mission. You didn't either, so you should understand. This is pointless.

[emptyself]

Normally, I would agree.

[ he nods. yoon’s logic is mostly right— he should just leave him alone. it’d be far easier than all this effort he’s putting. ]

But I can’t just do that. Not when there’s obviously something wrong with you. Maybe you can’t tell me or you don’t know how to tell me but that doesn’t mean that I will abandon you.

[ he crosses his arms. ]

You’re a very caring person. That’s probably why the goddess chose you. And, sure, sometimes, we get jobs that we don’t really want to do. But usually having a good team working with you makes the burden easier.

[strawsandals]

[ He opens his mouth to try and retort, but then Soujuurou continues talking, and something about what he says gets Yoon to stop. He grits his teeth, closes his eyes, and his free hand rises to press against his forehead, reminiscent of someone having a headache -- is that what this is? Hard to say.

He stays like that for a moment. ]

Soujuurou. Please.

[ A beat. He's trying to gather his bearings. ]

I won't -- hurt you, but I advise that -- you don't stick around long enough to see if I will.

[emptyself]

You see? You are scared.

[ it is not an accusation, but a gentle nudge. he sighs. ]

Alright. It’ll upset you if you hurt me, so I’ll go back for now. I’ll make some onigiri and leave it at your door, alright? That way you can eat it even if it’s cold.

[ gotta make sure that he eats after angsting like that. ]