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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Comments

[emptyself]

[ the rows of futons look all perfectly made, but certainly well-lived in, and not in the best of ways either. the futon of [] is no exception. it's raggedy and with bits of dried blood in some places. certainly enough, it's something that he has had with him for as long as he could remember.

and speaking of remembering. well, you know what you're all going to get for haruka's ability to kick start the plot. a memory, as if you were experiencing it yourself. ]

“You can no longer stay here, boy– that is your punishment.” It’s a fair assessment, you think. Someone as damaged as yourself would only end up infecting the others like rot and disease if left alone. And though you realize that the last thing you want to do (how funny, you should never want, and yet here you are. Just what is wrong with you?) is leave your own home, your words die in your aching throat.

“Tonight, you will leave for the city– tell no one else, or else they will be forced to leave as well.” You shudder at the thought; you can’t do such a thing to someone else. "In the meantime, I will bestow you with a new identity–Soujuurou Shizuki – you have until nightfall to engrave it into your heart, as this will be who you are from now on.”

The heart of the boy now known as Soujuurou cries out feebly, but he knows that nothing else can be done. This is the correct thing to do, no matter how much your heart now aches for a home you no longer belong to.

[ once it's done, the wind seems to be bringing in something through the open window. a flurry of white petals. ]

[townmusician]

[It's not his own memories, but it's familiar, in a way. A disgusting failure being cast aside, like it's for your own good despite everything you've tried to make right.

Haruka doesn't let himself get caught up in the memory, though, scowling and pushing through the feelings.]

...This is getting ridiculous.

[He looks to the open window, walking up to it and looking outside. Someone else can get flashbanged by the flower petals, because he's more curious about the outside world and what he can see... with his 5... cries into my hands.]

[goei]

.... Tch.

[Some of this feels familiar, some of it completely inexplicable.]

Fucked up how easy it is fer some people ta just toss people aside when they get inconvenient.

[privatedomicile]

[Dammit, he knew this would happen! And, as predicted, the memory sucks yet again. Jesse feels the sadness as deeply as his own, and then, he sees the flurry of white petals. Something clicks, and he calls out through the window (17).]

Soujuurou!!!

[emptyself]

[ jesse and haruka have the right idea, and though haruka flunked his sight test, the answer will still be the same for anyone that looks out the window. not too far in the distance, appears to be the corner of a field of flowers. the strong winds kicks up the petals, bringing them up into the apartment.

and at the edge of what their field of vision allows, is a certain soujuurou shizuki, unmoving and on his knees. ]

[townmusician]

[Haruka is not jumping out the window, but he'll be running out of the apartment towards Soujuurou. Jesse will absolutely beat him to it but he's!! Doing his best!!! With his short legs!!!!!]

[gardenful]

[ When she spots Jesse and Haruka staring out the window, she'll do the same, taking in the sight of the field of flowers for a few seconds before nodding to herself. There he is.

Aerith will be using the door like a normal person, but she will be running out there, that's for sure. She's definitely not going to be the first because sprinting isn't really her forte, but that doesn't matter to her. ]

Soujuurou! We finally found you!

[privatedomicile]

[There he is. Jesse doesn't fully think about before he starts moving, otherwise he would think better of hopping onto a two-story window. That 20 he rolls spurs Sirius, the Greater Dog into action, though, and since greyhounds are pretty good jumpers, the persona keeps him from once again getting owned by a window. The silhouetted dog follows behind Jesse as he reaches the large field of flowers where Soujuurou sits.]

Yo, mountain man. Been tryin' to catch up to you all day. What's going on?

[Jesse says it as if it's as simple as Soujuurou not answering his phone calls and crouches down to his level.]

[strawsandals]

[ Yoon will also exist through the door, and when he sees Soujuurou, he approaches and crouches down to see him. He'll give Soujuurou a quick examination, just with his eyes.

Are there any visible injuries on him? ]

[goei]

[Somehow Izou ALSO absolutely nailed the jump out of the window (20), though not with the help of his persona, he's just a crazy fight man and knows how to fall correctly and he avoids taking damage with a very cool rolling landing, before just dashing at Soujuurou and attempting to tackle him so he doesn't run away.]

You ain't gettin' away this time!

[silentfury]

[Yuri watches the action from the window and sighs. Subtlety is an art, and Izou is not an artist in that regard, huh? And this is coming from one of the giants of the group.]

1/3

[emptyself]

[ sorry jesse, but soujuurou is practically catatonic right now. thanks to shalem's very keen observations, however, he can tell that the boy is not only breathing, but he's breathing raggedly. and why wouldn't he? have you seen how much you've forced him to run away from you guys?!. there's a plain and simple reason as to why soujuurou stopped moving, though.

there's simply no other place to go. this flower field is the end of the road, which means that you have essentially cornered him.

and then, comes izou. suddenly, soujuurou springs into action with that same agility as before, twisting his body to the side to dodge (16) with a silent gasp.

he wastes no time to retaliate, however, as he twists back to bring his leg down onto izou's back with an incredible amount of force. (16+5=21). coupled with his bloodied knuckles, it's obvious who was out here killing the demons in the nekyia. ]

[silentfury]

[While Yuri is normally a bit of a risk taker, he decides to follow the folks taking the door instead of the window. Soujuurou does not need a giant-ass barbarian bear man rushing up to him right now, that's for sure. He'll be ready to provide support when it's needed however.]

[metagame]

[Soujuurou isn't moving... Atem braces himself for the worst and prepares to provide support, but he hopes more than anything they can walk out of here without a fight.]

[imperiosity]

[Aaron doesn't really know Soujuurou so he'll let the others try to coax some words from him. Even so, the stillness is unnerving in a way simply because all other times Soujuurou was so quick to flee. Anyway he'll try to circle around a little so there's at least someone there if it turns out the kid will bolt in the opposite direction but uh. He doesn't have a great feeling about this!!]

[prozaic]

[Why is everyone JUMPING OUT OF THE WINDOW the door is right there!! Dear lord.

Shalem creeps towards SOujuurou, and... well, he might get his arse handed to him but he's reaching out to hold his hand underneath the boy's nose to check if he's still breathing. (4)]

[beautifulknight]

[ ...Argenti himself arrives to this as well via door, coming closer. ]

[supherb]

[It takes Arven a bit to catch up with everyone, but he stays near the back of the crowd. After all of the brutal memories of werewolves and whatnot, he figures Soujuurou would not want to see Mabosstiff right now.

Still, he can't help but watch on with a sorrowful expression. The sadness in those memories has seeped into his bones.]

Soujuurou...

[bloodweapon]

[Fray has thankfully put the sword on his back so it isn't actively out, but like. He's still a guy in full armor with a sword bigger than he is, he's hanging back to let the others handle the more delicate task of talking to Soujuurou. But if things go south, he's here to help!]

[ledbythewind]

[RICHARD REALLY WONDERS ABOUT SOME OF THE PEOPLE HERE WHO JUST HOP OUT OF WINDOWS but he's approaching quietly and keeping his hands very clearly nowhere near the hilt of his sword just in case, because he knows all about being very jumpy around people one doesn't know or trust...]

[gardenful]

[ ...Ah, that's painful. To feel like you no longer belong somewhere isn't a good feeling at all, and it's one Aerith had to deal with for a long, long time.

That's why, when she comes back to herself, she's filled with a new sort of determination. ]

We need to find him. He needs to know he's not alone.

[goei]

Yeah. Him bein' weird's fine cause most of us are weird too just in different ways.

[Maybe not the best way to word it.]

[gardenful]

[ Honestly, it almost makes her laugh. Almost. There's a smile on her face, though. ]

We just gotta tell him that we can all be weirdos together. That he belongs.

[metagame]

You're right.

[Not that he'd say it in those terms.]

Let's show him there is a reason to keep going.

[pointzeropercent]

[HAHA WELP THAT'S JUST A BIT TRIGGERING FOR HIM

And yet, they must save Soujuurou, so what other way can they go but forward?]

...let's keep going then. He can't be far away.