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]

[ fray truly is avrae's favoured child, because while everyone else is unsuccessful, fray will find that one of the more intact shelves have some old books in boxes.

while everyone else is unsuccessful, sayaka included, she will feel as though the book of fairy tales she picked up from the floor is close to the correct answer, but not quite. ]

[ ooc: characters can search through the boxes for the correct book. roll d20 and flip if you get 18-20! ]

[bloodweapon]

[Huh...!]

Over here. Help me look through these.

[He's not going to bother explaining that this just feels right. Sometimes you need to rely on instinct, don't worry about it. Come on, gang, let's look through these books! Avrae continues to give Fray nice things because that's a (15)!]

[destage]

[You know, while she's thinking of it...]

Fray-san, maybe we should an eye on what the books look like? I feel like...maybe we need to find some kind of fairy tale or fantasy story, maybe?

[She's got one in her hand that she's managed to find--it's not right, but maybe it's somewhere close to that.]

[bloodweapon]

Interesting. Yes, let's try to look for something along those lines.

[Most of us rolled high so maybe we'll get it!!]

[cirquedesang]

[With the trove of boxes revealed (thanks Fray) to search through, it only stands to reason to focus there, considering the lack of relative damage.

So.

Celeste will pick a box from the top shelf and begin to look through what's in it. (17)]

[destage]

[Sayaka at least doesn't trip over one of the book's she's found at least! She'll pick up the fairytale book, and...

Something strikes her intuition. It's close, but no cigar. She'll keep it with her while she looks further around for something similar! (15)]

[beautifulknight]

[ Argenti tries because he said he'd help out, but he's just got a 10, fam. He probably is looking in the completely wrong direction or something... ]

[supherb]

[Books!! Arven helps out with digging for whatever is tugging at them so wildly. (20, 1)]

[metagame]

[But his book is so interesting! (don't question how he can read in the dark)

Ah well, the book can wait!

After Fray calls out, he takes a box to rummage in... what will he find? (19) and (1)]

[strawsandals]

[ Surprisingly, he is here to help (18, 2) rummage through the books. Thanks, Fray. What will we find now? ]

[linkupmods]

[ middlefam is rolling so well.

arven, atem and yoon will find three books that look to be part of the same set, although only two of them will call out to them with the feeling that this is right.

that said, when the books are opened, characters in the middle section will be sucked into either one of the books.

when they regain their footing, they will find that they are witnessing the following scenes as though they are experiencing it: ]

“Why do we do this? What is this all for?”

It was a simple set of questions. Yet for you, empty and hollowed out as you are, they come with the desperation of a sinner begging to God for forgiveness.

But instead of forgiveness, you are pulled aside from the rest of your cabin mates, who continue their drills without a care about whether you’re there or not.

The elder who pulls you away into a private area wastes no time in answering your question; one must never waste anything in a place that has nothing.

"This is just how things have always been around here, boy. There's no reason to keep doing it, but there's also no reason to stop."

Though he laughed candidly, his words emphasize the gravity of your sin. You should have never questioned. You should have never doubted. This sin is yours and yours alone to carry for the rest of your wretched life. You stare forward at the elder, a slight tremble in your body as the realization truly begins to sink in. From the way that he smiles at you, you know that he understands the same. Under his considering gaze, you feel like a prey that’s been caught in the paws of a wild dog. Your neck aches to the point that it’s almost hard to breathe, but you let none of it show in your listless expression.

---

The sight of your roommates– your friends strewn on the ground, bloody and nearly immobile, is something that nearly froze your heart once, but not again. This time, you push through the fear and anxiety, and give thanks to whatever deities above that you were able to get there right on time to help them. It is you against a powerful witch and the creature that tore them apart, dressed in the skin of a young boy. But you know better. Your eyes may fool you, but that’s why you were trained to see with far more than just that. Your nose fills you in where your eyes do not, and the smell is repugnant.

“Something reeks….” something swells within you, and then rapidly chills. It’s as if the world has narrowed between yourself and the disgusting facsimile of a boy in front of you. “It smells like rotten meat. This is why I hate dogs.”

All around you, you hear the distant sounds of hell breaking loose. You hear the witch yelling at the mutt in the form of a child, you hear your friends calling for you to get away, but you listen to none of these. All you can see is the sorry excuse for a child twisting and transforming into a giant, golden werewolf. And to that all you can say to this pathetic creature is–

“Amazing. You really are just a dog.”

[ this group will find themselves back in the bookshop. the books are now dull and dusty with no magical energy. ]

[destage]

[...Something about this strikes Sayaka as awful. Really, and truly awful. No reason to keep doing it, no reason to stop. She's not sure what about the interaction with the elder prompts that out of Sayaka, but she's quiet and finds herself shuddering as she watches it. Blood. Bloodied and broken bodies, all of it, and the witch that controls the boy--the werewolf, it's...

...

Sayaka tries not to see herself in that witch, nor anyone else. Fails. And goes quiet as can be, turning everything over in her mind.]

..."No reason to keep doing it, no reason to stop"...that's...

[bloodweapon]

[Fray is quiet after all of that, taking a long moment to center himself, to calm himself, to remember who he is. Sayaka's words draw him out of his haze and he shakes his head as if to clear it.]

Is everyone alright? Did you all experience those... visions?

[If that's even what they were. They felt so much more real than that.]

[destage]

...If it was the one of the person and the elder, and that...wolf and the witch, then yes.

[...]

I'm not sure what to make of it. What...do you all think they were talking about?

[The boy who became a wolf. The witch who utilized him. The people, bloodied and barely alive--

That can all wait, and Sayaka's fingers draw into her hair and run through it.]

[bloodweapon]

I don't know.

[He doesn't like that it's the only answer he has to give.]

It felt like... a memory. But I don't know whose it was or why we were shown it.

[Or why they were called here to see this... It doesn't sit right with him.]

We should see if the others are alright as well. Are you going to be okay, Maizono?

[supherb]

"This is why I hate dogs"...

[Arven's got a hand placed atop Mabosstiff's head as he murmurs it aloud. Something about that seems to have struck him. Probably because it's hard for him to comprehend.]

I guess that was the wolf we've all been wondering about.

[strawsandals]

[ Yoon is also brought back to reality. He's visibly shaken, and he's remaining completely silent.

The disturbed look on his face may be a good indicator - he sure saw what Fray and Sayaka did. ]

[metagame]

Unfortunately.

I saw a kid... and some witch...

[He rubs the bridge of his nose.]

And...

[No reason to keep doing it, no reason to stop.]

[beautifulknight]

[ Looking over, and it has shocked him enough that there is no way he wouldn't react to that. Even like this. ]

...I am in one piece. And unfortunately, yes, I too was a witness to those horrid visions.

Though, I wonder why is it we saw them now?

[ He isn't exactly pleased at witnessing them.

The same goes for anyone else, he presumes. ]

[beautifulknight]

[ It's definitely very foreboding and striking enough that it's hard to not react - or be shaken on some level.

As it is, he is watching the expression on Sayaka's face, before taking a moment to say the following: ]

...It seemed that we were in observation of something twisted.

[destage]

It seems like it. Why would the elder...why would he say something like that? Why were they all...

[This is unfortunately very beyond Sayaka, as much as she hates to admit it. She forces her expression to neutralize back into something acceptable, but it's...]

...I felt bad for the one the elder was speaking to. Everything about it felt so...terrible. But the rest of it...

[metagame]

Sutekh's Balls!

[He hisses, dropping the book and stumbling back.]

What was that...

[beautifulknight]

[ Yeah, Atem isn't going to be blamed at all for a reaction like that. ]

...Something wretched, for certain.

[metagame]

They were just a kid...

[cirquedesang]

Shit-

["Don't trust visions, Celeste, there are those who will warp your mind for their own amusement-"

His sire's words come to mind unbidden when the visions fade, but these... they were more, deeper than something a simple Fata Morgana could do... They felt real, like they were his own memory returning unbidden in a dream.

'There's no reason to keep doing it, but there's no reason to stop.'

Perhaps, to someone, that was inspiring. To him, it sounds like the empty words of someone clinging tightly to crumbling power.

He still has a book in hand, though the visions made him grip it much more tightly, and there are grooves worn into the cover from fingernails scratching into the leather.]

Stop hiding like a coward--

[Whether someone is actually, physically present to watch them, he sure does throw that book hard at the direction he feels himself being watched (16)!]