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

[destage]

Got it. We wound up touching a weird book that took us into a really bad day too...couple of them, actually.

[...Hm.]

Did you happen to see a witch and a boy who looked like a wolf? Or...maybe an elderly person talking to someone?

[emptyself]

[ unfortunately, irony has chosen jesse as its target. because as soon as they put the two of them together, everyone in the store is pulled into another memory, witnessing the scene as if they themselves were experiencing it. ]

As if that were the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, the werewolf pounces towards you, teeth bared and claws drawn, ready to cut you down. But you don’t fret. You don’t stumble. Over a decade of practice has given you all the knowledge necessary for this singular moment. You take a deep breath, and place your life on the line for three, simple steps. Three simple breaths.

With the first step, you dodge the swipe of the giant paw, using that opening to slam your open palm against the werewolf’s chest, right on the tip of the sternum. The bones and muscles of that arm explode and jut out in a burst of reaction force, but you don’t pay attention to it. The perfected beast begins to fall, unable to breathe.

With the second step, you whirl around behind the mutt, side-stepping the falling body entirely. You recognize that, along with one arm, one leg is also shattered, along with parts of the spine and some internal organs. You push through it.

And the third step is to bring the elbow down against the dog’s back, on the other side of the exact same area you had attacked previously. The bones on this arm shatter as well, along with a few more internal organs and vertebrae. You are not numb to the pain–far from that exactly. But the pain is secondary to the meaning of your feat. You stare down with a cold, emotionless glare at the motionless mutt, your prey, and come to a realization that brings you neither joy nor sadness, but fills your hollowed out self all the same:

Finally, your debt has been repaid.

[destage]

[...

It's cold. Cold, brutal, and simple. An execution in all but name, and made so simple it looked almost effortless. Everything about it gets Sayaka to pause, not looking away for even a moment.

The debt has been repaid. The debt has been repaid in blood.]

...Shizuki-kun, is this what you...

[She says that quietly, to herself.]

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Previously, Eli hadn't witnessed the memory of the werewolf. He hadn't known... until right now. Watching the beast get shredded so violently sends a bolt of terror down his spine. Holy shit? Holy shit... This guy is...? Look, it isn't as though he doesn't understand.

Eli's helped clear lycanthrope dens.

People too feral to help, people who didn't want help.

That doesn't stop him from feeling the chill of realization. ]

This guy is... a werewolf hunter?

[ Or, perhaps more simply, a monster hunter. Demons. Their ilk. ]

[silentfury]

[Damn. Yuri can't help but feel respect for the technique and prowess displayed in that memory.]

[cirquedesang]

[Another vision. The continuation of the one before, it would seem, or something close enough to it that it wouldn't matter.

It brings pain.

Pain that is swallowed up by a hollowness in his core.

Hollowness filled with blood and death and a ruthless sacrifice of something that was once a child, something that clearly stood no chance.

It looked like a monster. For all he knows, it was one, too, mind too far gone to be saved, but this vision is clearly from the perspective of the executioner, and it makes his blood run cold as it fades away.

Humans always demonize things they see as a threat.

Humans always seek to become the biggest threat, ruthless in their quest to destroy anything different, because different is lesser.

Don't. Trust. Visions.

Humans are remarkably good at putting on a façade of innocence, at making others believe they care.]

[cleansewithfire]

[ Oh, this is...

Sunrise didn't see the vision with the werewolf either, so she doesn't have much context for this—but she doesn't need to, really. She doesn't blink or flinch, merely watching with an impassivity that some might find at odds with the rest of her.

It is simple, quick and brutal, the way this sort of thing should be done. Pain is still a new, exciting (in that it forces adrenaline) experience for her, but the sensation of bones breaking and muscles tearing is not. If anything, it's making her realize the absence of such incidents in the weeks since she arrived, which is a little strange in of itself.

And at that final moment, Sunrise finds herself thinking—perhaps, this is what it would feel like to fulfil a purpose. ]

[beautifulknight]

[ Finally, your debt has been repaid.

Brutal, isn't it?

But, Argenti watches it without flinching, even if it is certainly quite something to watch at all.

Given everything, no matter the merciless nature of it, he can only think one thing:

That this person was attacked. He reacted in defense of his own life. No matter how horrid the scene was, even right now, he can think that. Or perhaps it is simply easier in the state he is now. ]

[emptyself]

[ as characters gather their bearings from the memory, they might be able to hear the sound of something opening. is there a stray cat that’s come inside the store to pillage the fallen food? ]

[townmusician]

[All of this is kind of making Haruka feel incredibly, incredibly queasy. He's just your normal, average idol! This sort of thing is way, way beyond what he's familiar with, and it's not like he can be numb to it. Even after Jordi's palace, this has him on edge.

(Or maybe it's because of Jordi's palace that he's on edge, because he can't help but feel like Soujuurou will die as well, and then they won't be able to watch that movie...)

But with his 12, will he be able to catch what's making that noise? (is it a cat fr, that would be nice,)]

[beautifulknight]

[ He's probably not paying attention to that, hence the low roll (3) ]

[gardenful]

[ Even though she’s still reeling from that memory, she hears the sound of… something… opening, so she looks around trying to see where it’s coming from (19). ]

[prozaic]

[Apparently Shalem continues to not know shit (6), like he used up all of his ability to perceive on that barrier. Nevertheless, he shuffles further into the room so he can be closer to the crowd, he doesn't want to be caught away from the group like a weak link.]

[metagame]

[What's that from the corner of Atem's eye?

He decides it must be nothing too pressing (11) as he's still recovering from yet another blister of a memory.

Pressure builds behind his eyes, a monster of a migraine incoming. He pinches the bridge of his nose again to no avail.]

[bloodweapon]

[Oh right, Fray is still here, I guess. And also he has eyes! (17) So what do we have here?]

[ledbythewind]

[Richard is usually the uber-alert type, but apparently right now he is distracted by Sunrise eating dog kibble, so he likely won't notice anything (6).]

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Eli is here but lmao not rolling, look, he's still... thinking.

Thinking takes time for him.

Part of him is like shit, this guy kills werewolves (unsure), and the other part of him is all why did that werewolf get to look cooler than his type of werewolf, wow? ]

[emptyself]

[ to those that are distracted by the kibble eating group or suffering from having their self-esteem knocked down a peg, my deepest condolences. it is a strange and fascinating situation.

however, for the likes of atem and haruka, the sound from the window appear to be coming from a person who is currently trying to step out, with one foot out the windowsill and one foot in the store. but why is someone doing that when they have a very good and useful door to escape from?

and while the identity of the person might be obvious, it is fray and aerith that can see him,. it's [ ], of course. and the beast in the form of a human sees them too, as he freezes like a statue when the eyes fall upon him.

but it's only aerith who can see the expression on [ ]'s face before he swiftly pulls himself out of the window and up on the roof with a cat-like agility. it's one of terror. ]

[privatedomicile]

Yo! Get back here!

[Jesse runs towards the window, also neglecting to realize there is a door right there…

And because of the 1 he rolled, he falls through rather than jumping, flopping over on the pavement.]

Bitch…window…

[fullmoonmutt]

...dude.

[ Eli... uses the door... and offers the poor guy a hand up. ]

[gardenful]

[ She watches as he climbs out the window, running forward a few steps even though she knows she won’t catch him. ]

He’s afraid…

[townmusician]

Of us?

[Or is another werewolf (that's not Eli) going to appear from behind with the steel chair...]

[strawsandals]

That's why we need to catch him. Something isn't right.

[ He says this with conviction. ]

[metagame]

We can't keep chasing him.

[Because it's wearing him thin.]

He seems to keeps running into stores specifically. First that book store... Now this pet store... Are any of these relevant to him somehow?

[Bad retail jobs?]

And are there any other stores in this district in the physical world?

[emptyself]

[ while you guys discuss how to corner him in the shopping district, it seems like this creature has learned from its lesson. an animal that cannot adapt to its environment is slated for extinction, after all.

it's because of this that aerith will be able to see []'s path. it's towards the nearby apartment complex, just a couple blocks down. ]