Link Up! Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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linkingup2024-08-08 07:00 pm
linkupmods) wrote in linkingup2024-08-08 07:00 pm
Week 2
WEEK 2
WAKE UP, GET UP, GET OUT THERE.
- Saturday rolls around and characters may see that there are notices from Mina, saying that everyone will be taking a trip at noon sharp on Saturday, and to have their weapons. Whether characters pay this heed or not, they will in fact hear a ding from their phones at noon, their screens glowing a sunset red with the word "TRANSFERRING..." the only thing to be seen. And then, just like that –
You all enter.
The new world before you can be described in one word: twisted. It doesn't feel great, but it doesn't feel extremely awful, either, depending on how you look at it – it's a distorted version of the already grim city that you've been brought to, and you are specifically in the shopping district. Everything seems to be darker shades of red, yellow, and purple, if you can see it through the haze ominously floating about.
That feeling of something stirring in your chest seems to grow stronger, more potent, burning with the desire to be let free…
…and you, all of you, are surrounded. Various monsters and demons are threatening to attack you, looking at you like you are their prey. That's because you are…but you don't have to be for long. The moment that you engage in battle with them, no matter who strikes first, is the moment your emancipation begins.
Welcome to your awakening.
You feel a surge of energy rush to your palm – for some, it burns like a fiery blaze. For others, it sparks with electricity; perhaps wind circles around it, or a mysterious frost begins to blanket it. Maybe you have a mysterious pink aura around it, or a bright turquoise light; a dark, sinister glow or a calming light. Whatever the case may be, it drives you to place your hand over your heart.
You latch onto something. It is not your chest, it's not your heart, but it's something deeper than that, something from your being. You pull, you drag it out, and there is no bloodshed or any sort of pain, only a very bright light and some struggle as you unearth what is within. You finally, finally feel free as a new part of you literally stands before you. Say hello to your new friend: Your Persona.
Your new skills feel intuitive, and you feel like you can navigate them well enough to at least try to survive. You don't need to question how or why you understand them just yet; all you need to do is let yourself experience your power, and you'll stand a chance.
And with that, it's time to fight.
(Note: Weapon attacks will always deal Phys damage, but Phys spells will naturally do more than just whacking enemies with your weapons. Go wild, dodge, parry – combat is more freeform here than it is in Persona, so play this out however you'd like.
Furthermore, you'll be able to see everyone's cool Personas! You just won't be able to really interact with them directly.)
???
- (Picrew by ~danidoninha!)
After the battle, there's the sound of a whistle. Turn your heads towards the source, and…huh? A cat?
"Alright, newbies, it's time to roll out."
…And it talks???
She says it with a scowl on her face, and soon, she leaps up – poof, and suddenly, there is a cat train in front of you. Weirdly enough, this cat is the one driving it. How did she summon the train…who knows.
"Get in, unless you wanna get your asses kicked!"
And sure enough, she's right, because there seem to be more enemies flocking towards you. She will drag you all in whether you like it or not.
SAFE AREA.
- And, after a quick ride on the cat train, you find yourselves back at the dorms! ...Kind of. Much like the rest of this alternate world, it’s distorted in shape, though there’s none of the haze you saw when you first arrived. It seems this area, at least, is safe - characters would be wise to note it as a location to base any Nekyia operations out of in the future.
Mina is also here! She looks, quite frankly, relieved to see everyone show up alive in the train. The train, by the way, is gone, because it seems like your mysterious cat friend is now back to her…first…form? And seems to be on her way out. Back to Mina, though:
“Thank goodness... Okay, um, app hiccups aside...
Welcome to the Nekyia - the world of the unconscious. As you can see, the unconscious version of the city is, um... Very, very messed up. The more commissions you complete, the more connections you forge, the more bonds you repair, and the more Shadows you take out will help return the Nekyia to normal - and with it, the real world!
The people of this world don’t have the power to summon Personas... You’re the only ones who can save this city from the influence now. So please...
Help me fix this city from the inside-out!”
Mina has also set up a folding table set up with divinity cookies and water bottles from “Ambrosial Water Co”, judging by the labels. Characters who partake in these proffered snacks will find them rejuvenating - literally. Using a Persona’s abilities takes spiritual energy, but these snacks replenish one’s energy to full again with a single bite or sip. Any characters who want to try venturing back into the thick of the Nekyia today are free to take some with them, but do take care! Mina is only providing snacks for today, and after this characters will need to monitor their energy levels on their own.
Characters with further questions may ask Mina and she will do her best to answer! You can also try to catch the mysterious cat from earlier, too.
To go back to the real world, all characters need to do is press the "RETURN?" button on their phones. Much like the "TRANSFERRING..." message, this is the only thing on their screen.
All phones will now have a Nekyia app that will enable them to come in and out of the Nekyia at will.
OOC
READ ME!!!!
- Welcome to your Week 2 event log!
- Here is your promised Persona debut. Fighting is very flexible, so please just thread the fights in whatever format you'd like.
- A reminder for those of you who have gotten their Level 10 skills: These do not unlock ICly until Week 3, starting on 8/17.
- As always, please let us know if you have any questions! Enjoy!
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She can't say if Schneider was right or wrong. But it's a choice she understands. ]
You took a gamble and it didn't pay off. If we could build our strategies from seeing the end result, no one would ever go to war.
[ With neither immediate condemnation — or worse, immediate absolution — out of Schneider's mouth, Maika's tension finally relaxes a tiny bit more. ]
For a long time after, I... couldn't remember. I'll take the weight over that emptiness.
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In the end, she probably would have made every choice the same way. Besides, she's always been too decisive to a fault. Dreaming of regrets was not in her nature]
Only a shitty coward would want to live without knowing what they've done so they could escape their choices. Looking at your own actions without running away or trying to justify even the worst... that's much harder.
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[ Even if that made her into an abomination. Even if her every choice proved Tuya right about her, beyond redeeming. ]
...Do you know what happens after this? If you can leave this place, but your world is still caught up in that storm?
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[ What was the point?]
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It'd just be trading one strange place for another. [ With everything she'd fought for already gone. ] What's the Foundation?
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Remember me.]
An organisation of humans and arcanists working together to fight against the Storm...and the people who perpetrate it. Ah, I say they work together but really, its the humans with all the power.
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Then there'd be room for you, wouldn't it? You could have your rematch against the Storm.
[ She's more thinking aloud than nudging. Not everyone is the type to fight things just because they were pissed to have been knocked on their ass, she knows. Maybe Schneider likes it here. Maybe, after everything, this kind of peace is still... something. ]
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[ She couldn't bring herself to go crawling back again. It was a hateful thought. And that wouldn't bring Marian back]
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...Assholes.
[ There's not much more to say about it than that, is there? ]
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Mmhm. That was my sentiment too. A bunch of boot licking pigs.
[A beat]
Arcanics...what are they?
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[ It's not as though she can't see any reasons for it. She'd made her own judgment calls during the siege, and there were definitely people who hated her for it. But fuck that Foundation anyway. ]
Us? Halfbreeds. Offspring from humans and Ancients. Mortal like humans, but with pieces of inheritance from our Ancient parents. Claws, fangs, tails, horns or slit-pupiled eyes... and magic.
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[ Well, here, everyone was human enough that she simply would never know what that would look like]
The ancients...are they like the gods of your world?
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Only to hear them tell it. They're just... people. [ Actually. After a brief pause Maika will dig in her pocket for a little journal. From between its pages, she extracts a photo to pass over. ] Pure blood Ancients are nobility in the Courts. But they still pay lip service to respecting the goddess... at least when they think she might be listening.
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Ah. It's always a matter of purity, no matter where you go it seems.
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No surprise there. That must be every species on every planet. Is that what Arcanists are?
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[Schneider gives a tiny shrug]
There was plenty of prejudice against those with what they called "watered" down blood. One of those...I worked for him...he had a poison that would only affect half-arcanists. It would increase their ability, but it burned them up from within.
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[ They really are the same everywhere. Nevermind that Maika's blood is very nearly as pure as it comes; her tone still drips with disdain. ]
And if our worlds are as much alike as they sound, probably there were still people willing to take it even if they did know that.
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[ But not anyone Schneider actually respected so...]
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[ Maika looks over at the other group trapped with them, then back at the barrier as it begins to fade. ]
...What do you know. We found the univeral truth.
[ Clearly, that's the honesty that's getting them out of here! ]
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The kind of honesty gods expect, I imagine.
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[ Maika hops to her feet, half-extending her hand towards Schneider, who... is already getting up and doesn't need it. She withdraws it again and glances away casually to hide her embarrassment. ]
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You wont even do me the honour of escorting me out of here after listening to me pour out my heart and soul?
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You still want an escort after what you just heard?
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[Her smile widens just a little]
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[ But Schneider does get a tiny smile from her in return after all. ]
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