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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2

[prozaic]

[Has Shalem slept much lately? As a matter of fact, he has managed some rest in the day or so that he's been here, which is something given he can rarely sleep a full night anymore. Okay, so he may look a little droopy, but that's how he always looks.]

I wonder... How much of a challenge are you seeking? [Meanwhile, Shalem, a newcomer who has only a quarterstaff, is not looking for much of one.

However, he's well aware that he has no experience against these monsters, thus it would be difficult to tell if anyone is lying to him about their perceived difficulty unless he could read them particularly well. He rarely has a handle on the personalities of strangers immediately.]

You're looking for a workout immediately I assume, given you brought only myself. [Which means Shalem will have to pull his weight.

Which means that he may or may not lose his mind if he exerts himself a bit too much. Ah... bollocks.]

[imperiosity]

[Droopy is fine as long as he's not actively falling asleep, probably...! Either way, Shalem isn't a face he's seen before this, but with the amount of turnover due to certain people dying or going into comas, Aaron has just come to accept that there's going to be an influx of newcomers whether he likes it or not. It also helps that he was effectively squatting in 302 until fairly recently, so he definitely noticed that the nameplate change happened a few days ago at most.]

Pretty much. But if you need me to show you the ropes, then we can take one of the easier ones. Oughta be a few smaller Shadows along the way, too.

[In case Shalem wants to get a bit of practice in, that is. But surely nothing will go wrong on this trip!!]

[prozaic]

No, no need. Combat is... not an unknown to me. [Even if he would prefer it to be. He genuinely looks sad to have to be fighting, but at least they won't be fighting against people.]

A warm-up would not go unappreciated, but such things can be a luxury at times. [Meaning, not needed at all.] So let's keep moving, mmh? I shall learn as I go.

[imperiosity]

[Aaron does eye Shalem a little like he's sizing him up and examining how he holds himself. Either way, that answer seems to satisfy him enough that he's willing to let it go, albeit with a shrug and small parting shot.]

Well, it's your ass on the line. Better not fall asleep on me though, or I'm kicking your ass to the curb.

[And then he starts walking, expecting Shalem to follow.]

[prozaic]

[Funny how he thinks Shalem is droopy because he's sleepy. Sleepy is a distant cousin to fatigued, but it's quite a distance.

It's a good thing Shalem is an actor, and can act sleepy simply to further the ruse. He can simply continue to make this man assume anything he wants, and play on what he already assumes. Best way to lie, in his opinion.]

Please bring me back to the dormitory if I fall asleep. [A bright comment, before he shakes himself. Of course he still looks tired, but on the inside? It's enough. It's enough for now.

Though his perception roll definitely does not reflect how alert he is (10)... Nevertheless, his tail tightens around his staff.]

[imperiosity]

Only if you treat me a few drinks after.

[But his tone is light and cavalier as he continues on, only stopping briefly to check the Nekyia app so he can confirm their proximity to the target. As he lowers his Xipha, he catches some slight movement at the corner of his eyes (17) and turns to one of the many alleyways along the street, gaze focused on a figure that's partially hidden by a large dumpster.

Turning to Shalem and lowering his voice a little:]

Hey. You seeing what I'm seeing?

[prozaic]

[Can he see something indeed. (13)]

Indeed, I am. [His tail tightens around his staff.] Shall we go after that one, then?

[He may ask that, but he's already casting Rakukaja, one spell for each of them.

If they manage this with little trouble, Shalem will indeed buy a drink for both of them. Large bottles, at that.]

[imperiosity]

[The Rakukaja is appreciated, but he's not saying thanks until the Mokoi is Shadow goop on the ground.]

Dunno, sounds like you made up your mind already. So show me what you got, new guy.

[Although he will step forward and try to go for a preemptive Garula at the Mokoi, but a (7) means it whiffs and it only gets the Shadow to run out from behind the dumpster. Oops??]

1/2

[prozaic]

[Another fucking Mokoi, he wants to lose his fucking mind--]

2/2

[prozaic]

[Actually he might be still experiencing some trauma from the previous Mokoi, because he whiffs too when he attempts a quick spell to catch it while it's running (8), and just decides to layer buffs on both of them.

On the other hand, the spell wasn't even strong enough to sap his energy.]

[imperiosity]

[Starting off great for both of them!! Fortunately, the Mokoi seems to be rather flustered with the near misses, sending over an attempted Dazzler at Aaron but also missing that (8) too. The kick he launches in retaliation (10) is also just barely dodged, and Aaron clicks his tongue at this whole fiasco.]

Son of a bitch...

[He's not going to get any drinks by the end of this, is he.]

[prozaic]

[Shalem shakes his hands to get them warm again. Okay, no magic for today, so he transfers his staff from his tail to his hand, and lunges (but not Lunges) at the Mokoi.

Which is apparently the right choice, because his strategic strikes to its joints, particularly the back of the knees, are pretty effective (16).]

Handle its arms, please! Don't let it cast any spells.

[imperiosity]

[The Mokoi is definitely not having a great time after Shalem's strikes, but decides it's time to buff itself with a Matarukaja so it can prepare for a counterattack. Aaron, for his part, does try to go for the arms with a roundhouse kick (1) but goddamn does that not work out for him because the only thing he's hitting is thin air.]

You fight this guy before or something?

[prozaic]

Unfortunately! It likes to stun you for a while, hence my caution. [But clearly Shalem is not too cautious to recognize that he'll have to deal with the hands himself. He kicks the boomerang away, and then stomps on that hand, while swiping away the other with his staff (17).

He's slowly escalating into more violence. He's got a certain look in his eye now.]

[imperiosity]

[Aaron's focused on nailing the Mokoi rather than observing Shalem, so he misses the look in the other man's eyes for now... but he doesn't miss the opening. Even so, the Mokoi isn't going to make it easy, trying to make the most of its attack boost to try and smack Shalem away with a hand (12). It's still enough to give Aaron the chance to target the its weakness though -- so with his swords covered in wind, he'll slash down at its arms (17), aiming to at least debilitate it enough that Shalem can follow up.]

You're up, new guy!

[prozaic]

[The Mokoi does manage to throw Shalem off (19) and rather violently at that, beating him around the chest, arms and face with flailing meaty hands... though it's a bit too late at this point. Shalem is really feeling murderous today.

The staff all but forgotten, Shalem gets his hands around the Mokoi's head and twists, and if he had doubts that the thing had bones, they're likely dispelled by now. (20)

The monster dissipates upon defeat, which is a shame, no trophies, but despite all the bruises he's taken from its last attempts at clinging to life, he reels back raising his face up to the sky (whatever the sky is like in this dreary place), and lets out a pleased, satisfied cackle.]

[imperiosity]

[............

Well. That's one way to end it. It isn't like he hasn't gotten plenty aggressive himself mid-fight, but it's still quite something to see a person literally twist the head off anything, Shadow or no. And of course, considering how the man had been acting up to this moment, he can't help but be taken aback at the sudden flip from mild-mannered to... well, whatever this is.]

...Damn, dude. The hell's gotten into you?

[prozaic]

[Oof, okay. Okay, he's starting to chill out again. It seems Aaron's voice has managed to snap him out of that haze. He hunches over, placing his hands on his knees and breathing deep to steady himself. His hair is covering his face, so his expression of horror, shame, and fatigue can't be seen by anyone else.]

Please do not. [Do not what? Perceive him? Get close to him in this state?]

Apologies... I'm not fit for being out in public right now.

[imperiosity]

[And here is yet another flip. Aaron almost feels like he's going to get whiplash at this rate, but at least Shalem doesn't seem hostile right now, so he's going to summon Jiutian Xuannü to give the man a couple of Dias to at least patch up the hits he took getting up close and personal.

Aaron doesn't do anything further, giving Shalem some space and keeping an eye on their surroundings to make sure more Shadows aren't approaching. However, at some point he will speak up.]

...Look, not gonna ask what that was all about, but if you'd rather call it a day, we can go back to the dorms. We already got one of the targets, anyway.

[prozaic]

[To continue or not? That's the question, isn't it? Shalem doesn't want to... but he feelings the surging adrenaline inside of him, and immediately knows that he's going to be haunted by stronger nightmares later-- if he doesn't become the nightmare himself, later.

Which is a very real possibility. The way his nose was already bleeding-- stopped, now, thanks to those Dias-- and the way he feels pummeled, combined with the exhilaration of just having gotten a kill... He might go traipsing about, looking for a human to kill next time. Perhaps he should work this out?]

No, I'm still fit to fight, even if I shouldn't be around many people right now. [He straightens up, and wipes his nose clean. Then wipes that hand on a handkerchief from his pocket. He'll have to burn that later.]

[imperiosity]

[Frankly speaking, that's not the most reassuring thing to hear after seeing Shalem go to town on the Mokoi, but the one thing in his favor is that none of that violence was directed elsewhere. That's not going to stop Aaron from raising an eyebrow in response, even if he doesn't look completely opposed to continuing. But first, a question.]

Should I be expecting more of that as we go, then?

[He's confident in his ability to defend himself if need be, but he would also rather not be caught off guard by the person he's supposed to be working together with.]

[prozaic]

Unfortunately, you might have to keep seeing such shameful behaviour. If you'd rather not, I understand.

[And frankly, he would be happy if the man just runs instead of attempts to fight him if he goes berserk.]

If you insist on continuing with me... I don't think you'll be in much danger, as you wouldn't be my target. I tend to prefer those I've already... softened up. [As if that makes that any better!! He's well aware of that, too.]

[imperiosity]

[There's an irritated snort at the response as he angles a flat look at Shalem.]

Please, like I haven't already met psychos with enough loose screws to fill a hardware store. As long as you don't stab me in the back, that's good enough for me.

[Like, is it weird? Definitely. But he can draw a line between 'laughing mad when killing Shadows' vs 'deliberately targeting randos on the street', so there's that. Only time will tell if that line gets crossed, but for now, they have more Shadows to exterminate.

He grabs the staff on the ground and tosses it over to Shalem.]

Anyway, the next one's not far from here. Let's go.

[prozaic]

[Shalem gives a single solemn nod, then rights himself and takes up his staff again. He's limbered up enough thanks to this little mess anyway, even if he still doesn't like the way his body coursing with adrenaline. (Actually no, that's a lie, he loves it.)

First though, he tries to check if he can see their target... which of course fails, because why would he be able to perceive anything in a new place (5). But he tried, and that's what matters, right?

Failing that, he throws some Rakukajas over both of them, sighing. Better than nothing, and hopefully this would help stave off more blood being shed, given how reckless he's being and has been. More of his blood, rather, because that's really dangerous right now.]

It's best to just keep yourself safe. If I turn on you, then please, just run.

[imperiosity]

[The buff is appreciated given how troublesome Shadows can be, but the comment is less so. He does toss an unimpressed look over at Shalem before turning away to confirm the location of the next Shadow with the app.]

Already said I had run-ins with some crazies before, didn't I? So if you think I can't take an old geezer like you, you've got another thing coming.

[But they can probably continue this conversation another time, since Aaron manages to spot a Nue moping at a street corner (14). He makes eye contact with Shalem before jerking his chin to gesture at it, unspoken question clear in his face. 'We ready?']