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]

[ 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?

[privatedomicile]

I don't know, maybe? All I did was touch it and then... [He's still looking at it suspiciously, unable to let go of it.]

[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?

[gardenful]

Yeah. I think so.

[ And even in the dark here she can tell that Maika's reaction is... subdued. ]

You okay?

[bloodandstars]

[ Maika gives something like a full-body shrug, like a dog shedding a spray of cold water onto everyone around it. ]

Not really my first memory like that. It's nothing. [ Great to be having flashbacks of someone else's very similar trauma, not damaging in the least. ] You?

[gardenful]

[ Is it nothing? Aerith doesn't think so, but she knows that now isn't the time to say that. ]

I will be.

[ It's really not the kind of thing she's used to, despite all of the fighting she's done. ]

[bloodandstars]

[ She gives Aerith as searching a look as she can manage in the darkness, but finally nods. Not the time and place to press it. ]

Then let's get finish up so we can get out of here.

[imperiosity]

Sounds about right. Seemed to end right as they kicked it, too.

[bloodandstars]

Hard to remember much after that. ...Hard to be sure just from that, either.

[imperiosity]

...Well, if nothing else, they were pretty certain they'd be killed.

[But he's still not sure of what to make of it.]

[bloodandstars]

Unless that girl's aim was completely shit, they were probably right. ...Probably. Whatever difference that makes, when there's more than one person here who should've been dead before getting here.

[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?

[gardenful]

I... I think so. It felt so... real. There's no way it wasn't someone's memory.

[imperiosity]

Guess the burning question now just who it belonged to. Think it might be from the person who ran away?

[gardenful]

I think it's possible. That would make a lot of sense, if you ask me.

[ Hm. ]

Wonder if we can catch up to them.

[imperiosity]

Only one way to find out. You up for a chase?

[gardenful]

You know it.

[ time to go pile in on that chase!! ]

[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...]

[moonshaded]

... Hey.

[We're all very normal over here on the left side of the bookstore, and we're all doing very well.

That's an unusual pause for Schneider, and maybe it's unusual for Kainé, too, to nudge her by the shoulder with her own. It only lasts a moment.]

I don't know. It felt like running from an animal at first. But at the end... a lot of us here could be that over it.

[unweathered]

[Definitely normal, definitely functioning

Oh. Schneider blinks and tries to reorientate herself. There's something distinctly invasive about this, crawling in under her skin, feeling someone else's fear as if it was her own. She shakes herself out of it, twisting a lock of her short hair]

Mmm. We might not ever know...but it's clearly not anyone here.

[As in theirs, or there might be more obviously overt reactions to it]

[moonshaded]

You think?

[She wonders if somebody could be good enough to hide it. They're supposed to be forging all of these connections, but how often have they not given a shit what somebody else was thinking or feeling?]

By the time this shit starts coming out, it seems like we learn whether we want to or not. [And even though she intends on continuing her business of not sticking her nose where it doesn't belong, she looks Schneider up and down.] You don't wanna know.

[unweathered]

Emotions like that run raw. It would be difficult to shield that from everyone here since we haven't let our guards down.

[And in their little group, well, everyone here was quite good at masking. But even so.

Schneider looks up with a cock of her eyebrow and an amused smile]

You seem confident in that.