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

[prozaic]

[Whoever is within melee range of Soujuurou, and thus the starting point of this fight, might just hear a terrible hissing noise. Maybe you've heard it on TV, or a movie, but hearing a snake in person is far different from hearing a stock sound that's been processed for audio recordings.

Especially a snake this large.

Shalem lunges bodily at Soujuurou, doing what people tend to think of his kind but rarely expect. He wraps his arm tight around the boy's neck, and his tail around the boy's arm in a grapple from behind. (20,1) The quarterstaff is at their feet, though not forgotten.]

1/???

[emptyself]

[ throughout the barrage of attacks, soujuurou barely so much as whispers in pain. atem's khopesh breaks his shoulder, the ice punches from eli bruise his ribs, and fray's greatsword attack certainly hits its mark as soujuurou's clothes are quickly stained red with blood. and though he stumbles back a bit with the slam of argenti's lance at his back, he manages to twist his body once more to dodge the barrage of other attacks.

even with his bones broken and blood loss impeding him, it looks like he's taking another breath, isn't he? as if he's ready to continue going until his own body gives out entirely? that surely is the case.

until shalem attacks him and not only grapples him, but also wraps his arm around his neck. only then, does the shadow's eyes widen in horror, as all sense of fight leaves his body and he simply starts trying to struggling in a desperate attempt to survive. his breathing is ragged, he's kicking, fuck it, he's biting shalem's arm in the sheer panic that he's in. if he could scream, he would.

shalem, what will you do? ]

2/???

[prozaic]

[Ouch, ow, okay. Being bitten has always hurt, but at least he doesn't have the fangs that many Terrans have, the ones that feel like thick hypodermic needles. He doesn't break skin, which is also a small comfort in and of itself-- no one needs to get infected today.

But in response, he tightens up, squeezing Soujuurou more. He has to control his arm from breaking the boy's arm and loosens there slightly... though he exerts just a little more pressure on Soujuurou's neck to threaten his breathing. (12)]

3/3 BATTLE OVER!

[emptyself]

[ soujuurou struggles further when shalem squeezes further, trying to move his head to allow himself to breathe even just a little further. he knows he shouldn't, he's studied the movement of snakes and how they squeeze the life out of their prey-- but faced with everything, soujuurou struggles as any animal would.

and then, he stops. as if all life has left him, he squeezes out a few words, weak yet desperate. ]

-top. [ his breath flutters in his chest, trying to gently paw at whatever part of shalem he can find, but otherwise limp. ] Stop... please...

[ with that request, the nekyia has had enough. as if spitting them out, the next time they open their eyes, they're outside of the nekyia and back in the real world, in the park. your wounds have all been healed, as well.

you won. ]

[prozaic]

[He asked, Shalem will acquiescence. Since it seems he's now back in his own mind, he's letting Soujuurou go and supporting him so he doesn't drop to the ground.

Man. He feels like shit even if he wasn't even attacked.]

[emptyself]

[ thanks for being a pal. soujuurou rolls over, holding his neck and coughing slightly. god, it hurts. give him a minute please. ]

T-thanks.

[ FOR WHAT? ]

[destage]

[Being on autopilot has done nothing good for Sayaka, even if she's managed to avoid major injury again. Everything feels like a blur, every bit of it, it's--]

Is--is Shizuki-kun going to be okay?

[...Is anyone going to yell at her if she goes to try and check to see if he's still breathing. Because. As much as she wants to run over she's done that enough for everyone.

...

But if nobody stops her, she is at least going to check to see if he's still breathing--]

[townmusician]

[She can knock herself out because the last time Haruka checked on someone he up and died on him, but he's definitely hovering awkwardly nearby.]

[emptyself]

[ he's still breathing! a bit labored, but there doesn't seem to be any active blood loss, despite the fact that his clothes are absolutely ruined with blood and other proof of the fight. ]

Oh dear... I really caused you guys a lot of trouble.

[ he looks genuinely upset about this. ]

[privatedomicile]

Fuck...Soujuurou?! We should fuckin' call somebody, yeah?!

[Jesse looks intensely at Shalem and then at Soujuurou. He pulls out his phone and nearly drops it with how intense he is.]

[goei]

Call who!? Nobody in this stupid town talks to us!

[JESSE WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??]

[emptyself]

Jesse!

[ soujuurou looks up at him, holding out a hand and shaking his head. ]

It's fine. It's fine I'm fine. Don't call anyone!

[ he had enough of that with jordi. ]

[prozaic]

The snake's doing a good job at pretending that a hole is not being burned through his back by looks alone.]

[metagame]

[Now that it's finally over...

He collapses onto his knees, using his khopesh to keep himself at least upright. Deep, deep breaths...]

My cardio stinks.

[prozaic]

[Slips his hands under Atem's arms to help him up...]

Perhaps you're simply not meant for rigorous physical exertion.

[gardenful]

[ Yeah, she's running on over along with everyone else to make sure he's not dead. ]

Soujuurou! Are you feeling okay?

[emptyself]

Yes, yes, I'm fine. I'm pretty good at handling pain, but it looks like this all healed.

[ he rotates his shoulder, just to make sure that everything is working like normal.

he sighs, frustrated with himself. ]

But I caused you guys so much trouble.

[goei]

You better not die on us before I get the chance ta beat the crap out of you, Shizuki!

[Is this a threat or encouragement it's impossible to know.]

[emptyself]

I-I see... I guess I deserve that, don't I?

[ HE REALLY DOESN'T WANT TO FIGHT ANY MORE LEAVE HIM ALONEEE ]

[strawsandals]

[ That...that's it, then. They land in the real world and he feels completely fine, but more importantly, Soujuurou seems like himself again. Yoon is quiet, but he exhales a sigh of relief, bites his lip. ]

...

[ And then, just like that, he begins to walk away. ]

[townmusician]

[HEY WHY ARE YOU LEAVING YOU SUSSY BITCH]

[pointzeropercent]

[Oh good, it's over now. Sou isn't sure he would have made it through another hit like that.

Sou sounds a little winded as he says something to Soujuurou.]

You sure don't pull your punches, do you?

[He's smiling as he says that though. No hard feelings.]

[supherb]

[Well that was harrowing. But it's...over. It's over!

Arven lets out a sigh of relief and finally moves closer to Soujuurou.]

Soujuurou! You're back! Sheesh, you had us worried...

[Soujuurou might be able to sense it, but there's still a hint of fear behind Arven's words. After everything that's happened, it'll be hard to look at Soujuurou the same way. Not to the degree of thinking negatively of him, just...yeah.]

[silentfury]

[The choking of Soujuurou and the subsequent shunting of the whole group out of the Nekiya was... whiplash-inducing to say the least. Thankfully no one seems worse for wear. At least physically.

Yuri approaches Soujuurou, taking off his helmet and pulling out his phone to give the boy a message. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath halfway through, ultimately deciding to type exactly what's on his mind.

I'm sorry we came to blows. We saw parts of your past on full display. I know what it is like to be a trouble to your family. To leave and never return. You have my sympathy.]

[imperiosity]

[That... was one way to end it, at least. The way they're ejected from Nekyia is all too similar to what happened with Jordi, but at least here it's a lot clearer that Soujuurou is doing far better in the alive department.]

Sure sent us on one hell of a chase, man.