WEEKS 7 & 8

[linkupmods]

WEEKS 7 & 8

THE SEASONS TURN...

Time really passes, doesn't it? Before you know it, you're halfway through the time that the goddess Braphine has promised that you'll be here, your home away from home. You are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, maybe, even through all the challenges and eventful (!) twist and turns that have followed you through your stay here. Surely there can't be anything else lurking in the wings, right?

Through the efforts of all of Braphine's chosen, the city definitely is starting to feel a little bit cheerier, in contrast to the temperatures that are starting to cool as the seasons in Sunset City turn and the leaves change their colour. The Shopping District and the Entertainment District look and feel decidedly more warm, and a quick trip into the Nekyia also show that the haze has cleared from both districts, with the Shadows lurking much fewer in number.

Further exploration will find that the haze has thinned to explorable levels in the Nekyia Fashion District - there are Shadows to be cleared, after all. Maybe if you are lucky, they might drop you a little something in reward for your efforts.

DO YOUR PART FOR CHARITY!

On Saturday, there's a notice pinned in the lobby of the dormitory:

CHARITY EVENT FOR THE TEMPLE OF BRAPHINE
9/21
FLEA MARKET AM
FORMAL MASQUERADE BALL PM
Come and support the temple when we need it most!



Yes, you read that right: There will be a Charity Event for the Temple of Braphine, hosted by no one other than her devoted followers. They sent this over to the dorms to request the Chosens' assistance, it seems, and as the flyer says, this is an all-day event to take place on September 21st.

In the morning, there will be a Flea Market! There's a note from the hosts that they'd like the Chosens to either find a vendor to assist, provide entertainment, or participate as vendors in the Flea Market. At night, a ball will be held with live music, dinner, refreshments, and an open dance floor for all. They are not asking for your assistance with the ball, however; rather, you are automatically invited as esteemed guests and are encouraged to dress your finest for the occasion!

Given that this isn't for another week, however, it is highly encouraged that you shop around to find an outfit you'll look snazzy in for the ball. You can also start preparing merchandise to sell; or maybe, perhaps, you'd like to save that street performance for the Flea Market? Either way, you've got a long week ahead of you…

…but it won't be all rainbows and sunshine.

KEEP DREAMING.

Late into the night on Saturday, you will dream. What that dream consists of varies with each individual, but you will have one, even if you've never dreamed before. This dream could be a core memory, or perhaps about something you've always wanted, your worst fear...the list goes on.

The next day, anyone who enters the Nekyia will find that, aside from the strange "Palaces" that have popped up, things aren't right yet again…but for an entirely different reason. No matter where you are, you enter the Nekyia to a hallway full of dressing rooms. It's a fairly long hallway, because venturing down it will eventually lead you to a door that has your name on it.

Why don't you journey there and find out what awaits?

–

After seeing "Sayaka" and finding your door, you'll find something even more strange.

That dream you had last night? Well, it's here. Your dream may manifest as a small, contained landscape from your dream; a creature that you may have dreamt of might be scurrying around; another version of you, different from a Shadow; or you could be unlucky and have one of your memories on full display for everyone to see.

This phenomenon will last for the next two weeks, and dreamscapes will shift with the different dreams characters have. It won't be a one and done ordeal, unfortunately…but there is, perhaps, a way you can stop it.

(OOC: Sayaka's top level is NOT time sensitive, nor is it a mod-run event. This can be treated like a regular top level to be tagged at your own pace!

Please see the "A Dream Unraveled" commission for some details on what's causing the dreamscapes to appear! Welcome to your dreamwalking/memory share event!)

WEATHER FORECAST

Temperature: hot and humid, but gradually getting cooler! Surprise showers may occur during these two weeks when you least expect it, so stay sharp and don't get drenched!

Characters who journery into the Nekyia when it is raining may find HP-restoring items dropped during combat with Shadows.

COMMISSIONS

REAL WORLD COMMISSIONS

BATTLE OF THE BRANDS

Two boutiques on Amaranth Avenue have been at war with each other - figuratively, at least. The sweet lolita brand Cookies for Mice and the punk brand Panthera Punks started out merely vying for advertising space, but have now been taking rather pointed pot shots at each other in their marketing. As the shops are across from each other, it’s plain to see the owners are taking it personally as they can’t seem to stop glaring at each other from across the road. Won’t somebody help mediate before it escalates any further…?

AN ALTERNATIVE CANVAS

Up-and-coming makeup artists are looking to land a job with a new makeup brand in the area, and their final test: finding a model (or two) to model their work and prove their skill. Characters will find that these artists are on the prowl for willing (or not so willing) faces - but at least you’ll be compensated for your patience as they endeavor to make you look your best?

FISHY FUN FASHION

Saffron Street has been chosen to host a highly regarded fashion show! The theme: aquatic life. They need models of all sexes and sizes to walk the runway in ethereal clothing that brings to mind deep sea creatures like bioluminescent jellyfish, or even angler fish! For those who are not brave enough to walk the walk, volunteers are needed to help maintain the large, specially made tanks the city’s aquarium has generously lent out for the occasion. The tanks are full of friendly fish and plant life to create the perfect backdrop for the show! …You know how to use diving gear, don’t you?

NEKYIA COMMISSIONS

THE LION AND THE MOUSE

She thinks she’s so great… I’ll show her! We don’t need her prissy, holier-than-thou attitude around here! We’ll see how she behaves when her shop’s reduced to shreds…

It seems the owner of Panthera Punks having beef with the owner of Cookies for Mice isn’t just a real world problem - she has her very own Shadow in the form of a level 30 Narcissus. Take him on in battle and help to loosen its grip on her in reality before things get much, much worse.

HER HEART WON'T GO ON

How could he… After all I’ve done, after all the money I’ve spent… He leaves me behind for her?! I’ll make him pay… I’ll make them both pay!!

It seems one of the local models has had a rather nasty breakup, and the ex and other woman may end up suffering a rather harrowing fate if all these feelings of anger are left to fester… Characters who follow these angry rants will find themselves face to face with a Level 32 Leanan Sidhe, a jealous lover all too willing to enact a very real harm on those who wronged her. Fight back against the Shadow and teach her the value in moving on from a lover who was never worth her time to begin with.

A DREAM UNRAVELLED

Deep in the Nekyia, whispers and wails can be heard; a fashion designer bemoans their dearth of ideas, and hotly defends their choice to steal their designs instead. After all, this was their dream, and they can’t give it up now - no matter the cost.

Characters may find the Unfaithful Dream-King in a nest of collected dreams of the populace - including some of Braphine’s own chosen. He will be a powerful opponent for sure, but it seems solving this particular Shadow problem is the only way to ensure everyone can have a good night’s rest once more.

Once he is defeated, he will drop a rare item. Who knows, maybe this will help you in your journey ahead.

(OOC: Please turn in your threads for this commission on the rewards page to receive a stat boost item, valid for one time use during any battle.)

OOC

READ ME!!!!

Welcome to your log for Weeks 7 and 8! Feel free to use this log for any developments that happen during the next two weeks. There will be no log posted next week, but a top-level for the charity event will be posted instead on next 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.
Don't forget that the deadline for applications and character swaps is on September 28!

ic comm | inboxes | ooc comm | full nav

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Comments

[fullmoonmutt]

flea market thoughts (network)

r we going 2 do our own vendor stall 4 this flea market thing??/
maybe food?/
if so let me know
otherwise ill b looking 2 get hired at some other stall or smthin

a dream unraveled

[ The door labeled with bold letters, ELIJAH WALSH, has been left open. No doubt Eli is somewhere within with the door open like that, but do you dare explore the conflicted lycanthrope's dreams and try to find him?

i. distant dreams ♫ (cw: none)
Stepping through leads to a lively campsite, people in cobbled-together combat fatigues and whatever else they've pulled together to give themselves a somewhat cohesive look. There are many tents. Their vehicles — trucks for the most part — are parked on the outskirts, set up to form a makeshift wall around the camp for the night. Though the faces of the individuals milling about are obscured, indistinct in that dream-like way, they seem... friendly? There's a cooking pit set up, dinner is in the works, and the sun is only now beginning to set on the vast open fields of the Australian outback.

Sparse trees scatter across a yellow-grassed plain. In the distance one way, a desert isn't far, and the hot wind that blows from it is apparent. In the other, a much larger encampment built up around what was once either an outpost or a tiny town.

You see this from a much shorter stature than anticipated, perhaps how you were at 11 or 12. Surprise? Welcome to Eli's childhood.

ii. feral dreams ♫ (cw: cannibalism, gore, body horror).

Pass through the door, and you find yourself somewhere dark and dank. It smells of earth and rot. Once your eyes adjust, it becomes clear this is a tunnel leading whoever knows where, but you get the distinct feeling you are not here alone...

Proceed?

iii. city dreams ♫ (cw: isolation, anxiety, feelings of imprisonment)

Step through and find yourself surrounded by the remains of a once-massive city. Along this street, buildings appear to have been repaired enough to allow people to once again live within them semi-comfortably. Still, the reminders of destruction cannot truly be erased. Generators gutter along, and people walk or use makeshift bicycles to go to and fro on their business. These people are varied, but, again, their faces are without distinction, dreamy and undefined. Some people are normal humans, others seem to be... something else? Cobbled-together beings or even pale humans who cover as much skin as possible and carry patched-up parasols and umbrellas to hide from the sun.

Looking the other way, away from the city, displays a very abrupt landscape shift as though two environments have been crammed together with zero attempts to blur them in any rational way. It goes from the city to the wild open space of the outback.

Here, there is no need to search for Eli. He's already here, at the edge of where the city meets the wilderness, but on the city side, down on his knees on the street, head bowed. Chains lead away from him, further into the city, pulled taut at his neck and wrists, keeping him from leaving.

What will you do? ]

City Dreams

[vogelfrei]

[ McGillis watches the city with some fascination. It's not his world in the aftermath of its almost-apocalypse, but it's still a world that had just come back from the brink of total calamity. It's interesting to behold, especially when you know it's not real because you got there via a random door in the Nekiya.

Seeing Eli does put a significant damper on the merry tourism vibe though.

The first thing McGillis does is approach - where do the chains lead? Is whatever they are fastened to out of sight? ]

Eli... do you recognize me?

[fullmoonmutt]

[ The chains lead far, far off into the distance, down the street and towards what lays at the end, though what that is remains just out of sight. As for Eli, he raises his head with some difficulty to eye McGillis. The way his eyes narrow, there's suspicion rather than recognition. ]

Should I...? You're wearing a Spades patch but I don't know you. Has the old man been recruiting or some shit?

[ And true enough, should McGillis look down at himself, he'll find the dream's fit him into the world with dusty clothes more suitable for a mercenary than a soldier, though the patch Eli mentioned is sewn into a shoulder, along with a few numbers and some marking for a rank.

Whatever that means, Eli does recognize that, even if he doesn't recognize McGillis directly. ]

[vogelfrei]

[ Of course Eli's subconsciousness would know to cast him in a military role... He does feel more comfortable in uniform than out of it. Part of McGillis instantly tries to guess at the meaning of the rank insignia, so he can assign himself the proper title. ]

Maybe he has... or maybe he hasn't and I'm just some scoundrel who's stolen a uniform. Who's to say?

[ The old man, huh? Presumably the same person responsible for chaining Eli down like this then? ]

Do you have the face of every officer memorized?

[fullmoonmutt]

Tch, you'd already have your ass beat if you stole a Spades patch. You really are fresh meat, aren't you?

[ Whatever the rank is, it must be... low, lol, rip, McGillis. ]

'sides, if you were hoping to vanish into some faceless mass, you should have signed up for the ADDF direct. Christ, I thought they'd have better taste in recruits but here you are, a dumb fuck.

[ He turns his attention back to the wide open wilderness stretching out beyond the city's boundary. ]

Maybe mom should have just disbanded you all instead of handing leadership off... Don't know why you're all back here, anyway. You could be out there instead...

[vogelfrei]

[ Very rude of Eli that he has no confidence in McGillis' ability to be a dashing rogue causing mayhem through impersonation. But at least McGillis cannot waste a lot of time on being offended, because Eli keeps dropping lore and none of it seems to make any real sense based on his limited available information. ]

Your mother founded this organization? Pretty dismal place to leave the son of such a hotshot.

[ ELI WHY ARE YOU CHAINED TO OMINOUSNESS ?????? ]

[fullmoonmutt]

[ THERE ARE REASONS, OKAY??? ]

Nah, she didn't leave me here. She's here, too, if you're looking for her. Actually trying to make this whole "rebuilding civilization" crap work...

[ He's usually much more positive about his mom. Just ask Maika. Right now, though, he's in a Mood. It's probably because of all the chains, huh? In any case, he's going to slowly struggle to his feet. The chains drag at him, making every movement a struggle due to their weight. ]

The rest of you just ditched us here. Well. Maybe not you, if you're new, but. [ Ughhh. He sighs. Whatever, whatever. ] I mean. I get it. Who'd pick this over being in the field?

city dreams

[strawsandals]

[ The disparity between the people who are walking around freely and Eli is disturbing. The shift between the city and the outback is an awful one as Yoon looks at the Chosen with chains around his neck and wrists.

Now, this might be a fruitless endeavor, but can Yoon find some kind of key anywhere nearby? ]

Hang on. I'll get you out.

[fullmoonmutt]

[ There's no key to be found and Eli simply lets out a quiet sigh of irritation, turning his head just enough to give Yoon a sidelong look. He's suspicious, if that narrowed gaze says anything. ]

Don't bother... they ain't coming off...

[strawsandals]

[ That sure is a narrowed gaze alright, but Yoon does not pull away. ]

Why are you chained up like this, anyway? Are you injured at all?

[fullmoonmutt]

...

[ Why? Why indeed. He's quiet a time, wondering himself, until he finally comes up with the answer. ]

I... can't leave. I have to stay here.

[ Though he does reach up to hook a finger or two under the metal collar on his neck. His skin there, and at his wrists, are certainly bruised or rubbed raw in places from yanking against them too much. ]

It's fine. This is fine. Just. Go away.

[strawsandals]

No.

[ Sorry, Eli. He's a stubborn guy. He doesn't even know if Eli recognizes him here, but Yoon is not the type of person to leave someone who is clearly not fine.

He sees the raw bits of skin, the bruises that the chains have left behind. Yoon holds out his hands and casts Diarama. Does it even work...?

Either way: ]

I'm not going to leave you here when you're in pain.

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Heal all Yoon might, the spell will have no effect. The raw skin and bruises will remain and Eli won't even notice the effort. ]

Ha, am I in pain? Maybe... You get used to it after a while.

Flea Market

[moodwrecker]

i guess? why what are you thinking?

[fullmoonmutt]

i mean
i was kind of asking the rest of u....
tho i guess a food stall would be easiest?//
like i said
but i dont know what we would make

[moodwrecker]

what do you know how to cook?

[fullmoonmutt]

somehow i think spit-roast rabbit wont be popular here
i can make eggs
basic stuff
i know how to do jams and can stuff too but theres no time to make preserves to sell properly??/

[moodwrecker]

what about baked goods? can you make any of those?

[fullmoonmutt]

maybe bread
thats about it

feral dreams;

[beautifulknight]

[ Something most certainly horrid awaits.

But, fortunately, Argenti is used to facing horrors that would make the normal person wish they most certainly hadn't, to put it very very lightly.

So, he trucks on 'alone', but the sensation is rather familiar. He will keep a close eye out on his surroundings, for anything that moves in the shadows around him, for any strange sounds, or odd sparks of light.

For what may be lying upon the path he is treading ahead of him. ]

lum pointing at the dreams and going the fucked up one, please

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Most assuredly horrid indeed.

The tunnel continues, turning, twisting, down, down, deep into the earth. It's uneven and full of roots, clearly dug by hand — or paw, perhaps — though it would have to have been many working to make a tunnel this size, this deep, or, perhaps, the dream is simply exaggerating. Regardless, the further Argenti travels, the worse the stench of rot becomes. It soon overpowers anything else.

cw: gore, dead bodies, cannibalism

Ahead, there's finally noise besides the knight's own boots stepping along the dirt floor of the tunnel. There's the crack of bone and the tearing of meat, and Argenti will step out into a large underground den. Bones litter the ground, bodies of animals, large and small, for the most part, but among them... people... torn to shreds... For now, only one beast dwells within the vast den, but there's that sneaking sensation that it may not remain so for long.

Before Argenti is a familiar figure in his equally familiar red leather coat, though his back is turned to him. He's crouched down, growling and tearing at one of the corpses. Human, to be sure, as enough of the tattered and torn body is visible from either side of Eli.

He has not yet noticed Argenti. ]

THAT'S A ME

[beautifulknight]

[ This is getting real ugly in the olfactory sense.

Argenti only marches onwards through sheer inner determination and will. Dear Idrila.

Anyway, he has been expecting to witness something like a disconcerting sight of some sort, but the familiar shock of crimson attire from behind is even more surprising. Especially since this means that the source of this carnage must only belong to this singular person - or rather, beast.

He is suddenly infinitely more wary at this encounter, though, holding tight to his weapon as a precaution. Eventually Eli (this...beast) - assuming that is truly this memory of him - is bound to notice, beyond the fact that this is simply too gruesome to watch. ]

...Eli. Why...?

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Eli freezes when Argenti speaks, and when he does move again, it's with that slow, suspicious motion of an animal turning to see what's snuck up on it. Turned to look at this intruder as he is, the blood smeared across his face and staining the front of him is clear. Even more so when he bares his teeth at Argenti, responding with a bestial growl rather than any sensible conversation.

That's when the other growls respond from all around them. Glowing yellow eyes pop into existence first, hidden in darkness, but more figures begin to creep forward out of the dreamscape. They're ragged, wild-looking things, all human... or formerly, perhaps. They still look it, shape-wise, but like Eli, they bear similar marks of lycanthropy, some more than others.

Even deeper into the den, something else, too, stirs. Something big, but still indistinct. ]

[beautifulknight]

[ ...

Argenti feels like somehow that reaction is kind of an inevitability since he has crept in this far, so he doesn't exactly find it surprising when Eli turns, acting like a mindless beast. Judging by the corpses, he had been showing signs of acting like one.

But, there is more to it, it seems. Literally, given the sudden numbers creeping out of the shadows.

Though, he watches all of them as well, holding even tighter onto his spear.

It isn't the first he's fought multiple enemies at once; in numbers that would overwhelm many other normal people.

But, what worries him even more is that there's something else that may be even larger, and even he feels something like dread at the idea of potentially facing something like that. ]

...Do you recall who I am, Eli?

[ Yet, despite it all, Argenti's question is measured. He doesn't strike, though he takes note of so many potential creatures he may have to do so in turn. It seems his lack of knowledge in certain respects when it comes to Eli is not going to help him much, but a Knight of Beauty remains unflinching in the middle of danger, and that remains now.

Whether it gets him unscathed from this is another question entirely, however. ]

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Eli's already beginning to join the slow creep towards Argenti that the other feral people in the den are in the midst of, but that question does seem to get through, if only briefly. He pauses, suddenly reluctant to approach any further, and a moment of recognition flits across his face. ]

...Tin Can?

[ He asks uncertainly. No, no, no, he can't be here, no one should be here, this is the worst place to be— In the depths of the shadow, the larger beast shifts about again and lets out a growl of its own, long and deep, it reverberates through ground and flesh alike, and the other people growl and snarl in response, their eyes glowing bright yellow, all at the same time that the beast in the back's own eyes burst into sight with the same light. It has many eyes, though, and that light finally gives it a clearer form.

A massive wolf-like entity with many, many eyes lining its snout and skull, and all of them focused on the knight that has dared to enter its den.

Eli is no exception, unfortunately. Same as the rest, his eyes, too, glow with that malevolent yellow light. Whatever semblance of recognition he had previously is wiped out, and his face twists in a sharp-toothed snarl.

cw: transformation, body horror

What he doesn't do — if only because he can't change here, even in the Nekyia — is shift forms. The rest, however, these figments of a dream made reality, will find no such issue.

They change almost as if bidden by the giant beast's growling. Human flesh begins to crack, leaking blood, sloughing away as they stop to rip and tear themselves free of their previous form, giving way to blood-matted fur. There is the sound of bone creaking, cracking, and stretching into place. Some cry out in pain, falling to the dirt floor of the den as they flail wildly during the transition; others don't, changing with practiced ease into the half-wolf beast they become. They keep their shape, generally, although their legs elongate, their claws stretch, longer, sharper.

Wolfmen, perhaps, would be the best term, and each and every one of them intent upon Argenti. ]