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

[gardenful]

[ That makes her laugh, especially as the dog that approached her pads over to Eli and presses a wet nose to his cheek. ]

Maybe they'll see you returning their pets and give you some gifts in exchange. "Oh wow, a nice young man returned all of our pets and saved the day! We have to give him lots of money!"

[fullmoonmutt]

Gifts in exchange? What?

[ Eli reaches out to scratch the nose-presser behind an ear. ]

I'm sure they'd all want to be with their usual humans, too, so I don't want nothing in exchange for taking them back to their homes.

[gardenful]

What? You've never gotten a reward for helping someone out?

[ Wow, maybe she's the only one from a world with a quest system— ]

Making sure they're with their loved ones is way more important, you're right. I'll help you with that when you're ready.

[ And given how much they're flopping all over him... ]

Hmmm... and when they're ready too. They really like you a lot.

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Sadly, Earth does not have a quest system besides "having a job" and earning a "paycheck"... and Eli doesn't even get one of those. Alas. ]

I mean, I guess nicer folks sometimes give me food if I do something important for them, and that's a pretty big thing to give away on its own.

[ The dog petting continues... Yeah, they really are all over him. ]

Mm, well, they probably think I'm just one really big dog.

[gardenful]

[ Ah. Is he from somewhere that food is a precious resource? She wants to ask, but they haven't really talked before so... yeah, she'll save that for later.

Instead, she'll tilt her head a bit. ]

What, are you going to tell me that you're also a wolf?

[ He'd be the second one here to do that, if that's the case. ]

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Aerith, why...? It's like she flipped a switch, only in the wrong direction, because as soon as she jokes about him also being a wolf, he sits up to snap at her, ]

I ain't a wolf! I'm human!

[ Says the guy with a whole set of sharp, wolf-like teeth, grey hair, and yellow eyes. Uh-huh, sure, totally human. Still, his reaction startles the dogs into scattering away from him. Very sad. ]

[gardenful]

[ Ah, she said the wrong thing, didn't she? That's quite the difference in attitude between he and Maika, that's for sure—she didn't seem to mind admitting to that aspect about herself. But being snapped at like that frustrates her too, and she crosses her arms and leans toward him. ]

Geez, you don't need to be so rude about it. I believe you.

[fullmoonmutt]

...yeah, well, don't go around asking shit like that, sheesh.

[ He'll do his best to calm down and look generally disappointed by how he spooked all the dogs. Aw man. ]

Shh, shh, shh, it's fine. I'm not yelling at any of you. See, come here.

[ He offers a hand out to the closest one to sniff. ]

[gardenful]

[ She watches as he holds out a hand to one of the dogs, frowning. ]

And how was I supposed to know that was gonna be a sensitive question for you? You gotta cut me some slack, you know. I wasn't trying to upset you.

[ She's honestly pretty unhappy with his reaction, and that's something she's going to make well-known. However... ]

I am sorry, by the way.

[ Her apology, at least, is sincere despite her frustration. ]

[fullmoonmutt]

I...!

[ He comes off as defensive at first, but he stops short of saying anything else once he's brought his head up, looking at Aerith again. He grimaces, takes a breath, and tries again. ]

...I... know. It's... just a problem I have... I guess. Sorry.

[gardenful]

[ She smiles, any anger she felt melting away. Crouching down, Aerith tries to lure some of the dogs back. With the relaxed line of her shoulders, it's easy to see she's already let this become water under the proverbial bridge. ]

Well, get to fixing that problem!

[ Easier said than done, which is why her tone is light. ]

But I know where you're coming from... sorta. I'm far enough away from being a human back home that it's caused me a lot of trouble.

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Oh, how he'd like to yell at her how it isn't an easy problem to fix! But he won't. She doesn't sound serious about it, and if he did, they would be right back in the same spot they were a moment before. ]

Eh? But you look super normal? [ wait is that rude ] I mean, like super plain.

[ no ]

...as in human! Plain, normal human! Or. Well. Okay, maybe not plain, but...

[gardenful]

Pretty or cute, you mean? You're right about that.

[ She's just gonna steamroll over Eli's slipup, it's fine— ]

But you're right. I look like any normal human. But back home... I can commune with the planet.

[ Well, more or less. But it's easier to say it that way. ]

[fullmoonmutt]

...hey, I was just trying not to insult you!

[ Hello?! Ghhh, whatever. ]

Commune with the... Wait, so you talk to plants?

[gardenful]

[ She stifles a laugh at his little outburst. Maybe teasing him would be fun, actually, if she can figure out a more solid line she shouldn't cross. ]

I do, but the plants never talk back.

[ Talking to them is just for her sake. ]

But with the planet, I can feel what it wants to tell me through the lifestream. [ Which he probably doesn't have in his world, so she continues: ] Think of it like the lifeblood of the planet, where all souls go before being reborn into something new.

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Blaaaank stare. ]

You talk to your planet's blood... which reincarnates people?

[gardenful]

Pretty much!

[ Yeah, that... probably isn't the best explanation, huh? ]

The lifestream is responsible for all bits of life on the planet. The trees, streams, the thoughts and feelings of people—everything. Being a Cetra means that I can feel that life, that I can feel what the planet wants to tell me.

[ She smiles, just a little. ]

I know it's weird.

[fullmoonmutt]

Pretty weird, but I'm pretty used to weird, so it's fine.

[ He isn't sure he's run into anyone who speaks to the planet, for real, though. This is a first. ]

Though I sure hope your world is doing alright if you can hear whatever it wants to tell you. I imagine if everything went to shit, you'd never hear the end of it.

[gardenful]

Funny you say that...

[ One of the dogs comes trotting back over, and she crouches down to pet behind its ears. ]

The planet's actually dying. [ No reason to mince words. ] But I'm gonna help save it, before it can get any worse.

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Is she pulling his leg or... ]

Christ on a fucking cracker, does anyone here come from somewhere that isn't messed up in some awful way? Shit, lady. I'm sorry about your planet.

[gardenful]

[ IF ONLY.... ]

From what I've learned about everyone else's worlds? Nope, doesn't seem like it. Which makes me think you aren't from a normal place either.

[ A pause. ]

My name's Aerith, by the way.

[fullmoonmutt]

Psh, yeah. I've managed to shock a few people when talking about my own place.

[ Right, time to scoop up a smaller dog and give it extra scritches. Thinking about home is a double-edged sword sometimes, so, support softness... needed. ]

Name's Eli. Eli Walsh.

[gardenful]

Wouldn't you know... so have I.

[ After all, the death of the planet is quite the thing to process. She smiles a bit as she watches him scoop up the dog. ]

Aerith Gainsborough. Just call me Aerith, though.

[fullmoonmutt]

Yeah? Ha. Guess there's just a certain level of "fucked up" people can comprehend before it's too much, huh?

[gardenful]

There sure is! But that also makes it easier to relate to the ones who get it, even if it's in a different way.