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

[linkupmods]

[ the bookshop, in general, is pretty dark and dusty, almost like it was abandoned before this entire incident came about. phone flashlights only work in the immediate radius around them so characters will be able to see their feet - the nekyia's shadow darkness has a tendency to be a little oppressive, after all.

that said, for how dark this section of the bookshop is, there seems to be the faint glow of a single candlelight right in the back of the section, although everyone will probably need to watch their step not to trip over any books or cause any other shelves to come tumbling down. ]

[ ooc: characters in this section can either roll for perception to explore more in the section, or head towards the light for the next part! ]

[gardenful]

[ Before heading toward the light, Aerith is going to take a look around first (18) to see if there's anything else they all need to be aware of. ]

[bloodandstars]

[ Well, Maika was going to try to look around. But with her (7) there's not much to catch her eye. She gives a tsk of annoyance and kicks a few more things out of the way as she heads towards the light. ]

[imperiosity]

[Avrae finally letting him succeed at something that doesn't involve maiming someone hurray

Anyways, Aaron will indeed look around first (19) before moving towards the candle.]

[unweathered]

[...apparently after bitching, Schneider's perception in the dark has significantly improved because she's looking around with keener perception than before (20)]

[privatedomicile]

[Jesse squints in the dark to see if anything jumps out at him (11), but he has only a vague sense that something's around compared to everybody else. He is fidgeting with his lighter again in case it suddenly decides to work .]

[moonshaded]

[Ooh, shiny.

Perception: 9, so after making a big deal about dumbass hero baiting to Sayaka earlier, Kainé is on her way toward the light.]

[bloodandstars]

[ Yeah!! Now we're talking!! Leaps before looking squad unite. ]

I can't see shit in here. If you're gonna start stabbing anything, tell me first so I can get out of the way.

[moonshaded]

[Everyone else on this side of the building is hearing loud noises and seeing flowers, and they're probably knocking their shins on bookcases and thinking someone lit a candle in a bookstore.

Kainé, who also can't see shit, snorts.]

Worried about losing the other one? You can get out of the way in time.

[That's a compliment, probably.]

[bloodandstars]

[ They speak the same language, because she's taking it as one! She gives Kainé a smirk that absolutely neither of them can see in this shit lighting with their shit perception. ]

In this terrain? ...Probably. At least I'll still have my teeth.

[ Would Maika straight up bite a monster if one appeared? Past precedent says yes. ]

[linkupmods]

[ avrae likes you all, because aerith, aaron and schneider will hear footsteps.

they're very faint and quiet, but somebody is in here with all of you.

this is followed by the sound of a bookcase crashing in the distance.

when approaching the candle light, jesse will notice that the light does not actually come from a candle, but from a single white flower. ]

[gardenful]

[ Uh oh. Those footsteps combined with the bookcase crashing lead her to think: ]

...Someone else is in here.

[imperiosity]

[Hmmmmmm yeah he's not liking this. He'll tuck the phone he was using for light into his pocket so he can draw both of his swords.]

We smoking 'em out?

[unweathered]

[Guns, ready.]

Shoot first, questions later?

[gardenful]

I'm not against that, exactly, but... let's find out who it is first.

[ Maybe they can get out of this without fighting??? ]

[privatedomicile]

...huh, weird. What's this doin' here?

[Given the way these places work, though, it might be important, so Jesse is going to try and grab the flower and observe it. And hey, free lantern.]

[bloodandstars]

What is it?

[ Apparently she's been too busy going into hypervigilance for intruders mode, so she'll grudgingly take outside info here. ]

[privatedomicile]

Uh, the candle's a flower. [He holds it up.]

[linkupmods]

[ their conversation seems to have spooked whoever was with them on the left side, because the footsteps sound more hurried, and there is the sound of a door opening.

alas, they will not have any time to investigate, because when jesse grabs the flower, the entire group will be momentarily blinded by a bright light.

when they can see again, they will find that they are witnessing something as though they are experiencing it: ]

Run, run, run, run!

In a house of mirrors, you run like a rabbit in the midst of a chase by a pack of foxes. Bullets of light whizz past you, crashing against the mirrors and sending glass flying with each hit. And if that’s not crashing into the mirrors, then it’s you who does, desperate for an escape that you’re not going to receive. No matter how hard you run, there’s nothing waiting but pain and pain and pain, with the knowledge that at the end of it, you’ll receive nothing but death.

“Ha…hahaha….haha!” Overcome with despair over your own imminent death, you laugh, slowing down until one final blast from a bullet sends you flying to the ground. When you open your eyes, you see the bland dark blue sky of the evening, and the grief and homesickness that overwhelms you is enough to keep you down. You’re tired. You don’t want to do this anymore. You stare down at your pursuer who calmly walks up to you…even now, you don’t really understand what it was that made you deserve this, but nothing in the city has made sense to you aside from its dangers. It’s so dangerous, all the time, that you’re not even that surprised by the fact that your own classmate wanted you dead for some arbitrary reason. You’d ask why, but you declare that you no longer care anymore. Her answer was just as equally apathetic.

You do not hear her answer.

[ this group will find themselves back in the bookshop. the light of the flower has gone out. ]

[privatedomicile]

[Jesse is overwhelmed by the sudden flash into another reality, all full of glass and firing guns, an uncomfortably familiar feeling of despair and fear for his life. He doesn't even get to know why before it's all over.

He nearly drops the flower when he snaps back, running a hand through his hair from stress.]

...what the fuck was that?

[moonshaded]

["What the fuck was that?" Her thoughts exactly, Jesse. Since he took the words right out of her mouth, Kainé just swears under her breath as she draws back. It's like she can still feel being caught in the chase.]

Did something come from that flower?

[gardenful]

[ When Aerith finds herself back in the bookshop, it takes her a few moments to recover, a hand clutched to her chest. ]

Did... did everyone else see that too?

[bloodandstars]

[ Maika's reaction is comparatively muted, a small jolt before she takes in her surroundings again warily. They're still here, in this stupid bookshop. No mirrors and guns. ]

Being hunted and shot at? Did we all see the same thing?

[imperiosity]

[Hm! Right, he's really not liking this. He shakes his head slightly like he's trying to physically scatter whatever lingering sensations and feelings that whole episode brought on, frowning as does.]

Shit. Was that someone's memory?

[unweathered]

[Schneider is quiet for a long moment]

But whose memory was it...?

[Being shot is not unfamiliar. The fear is, however. Schneider lifts her hand to her chest, the left where...]