WEEKS 9 & 10

[linkupmods]

WEEKS 9 & 10

AS YOUR BONDS DEEPEN...

The charity event and the dreamscapes have come to an end... and the Fashion District seems a little better than it once was. Your efforts are being recognized, acknowledged by the environment and by Braphine herself. There's still work to be done - the thinning fog allows you to venture even further into the Office District, where there are stronger foes lurking around the corner and in dark alleyways.

Speaking of Braphine, she is pleased by your progress as a group thus far, and has given characters a little blessing: If there is something you've always wanted to tell someone – whether it be how you feel about someone else here, someone at home, a secret you've been holding in, or something else entirely – but have lacked the courage to do so, you may find the strength to say it now. While the God of Conflict forced ugly truths out of you, Braphine would like ones that come from a place of willingness without fear. This sensation will last until the end of your stay here.

How nice, isn't it? To feel like you're finally starting to get somewhere with your fellow Chosen.

The God of Conflict, however, thinks otherwise.

A LOOK IN THE MIRROR...

The world around you has seen a few changes. There are the positives, thanks to your efforts in completing commissions and forming connections, both of which aid Braphine.

However…

If you look in any sort of mirror, window, puddle that will give you your reflection, The God of Conflict is there, looking back at you, gazing at you eerily, freezing you and holding you in place.

"Well, well, well. Fancy running into you here, Chosen. Tell me…do you really believe that you're aiding Braphine in her mission? Do you really think any of the bonds that you've made here matter all that much, so much that it'll stop me, in the end? Don't make me laugh. We'll see how much your flimsy little chains hold up in time."

And then, just like that, he's gone…not without another little gift, though. You will be surrounded by 2-3 Nekyia Shadows once he disappears…in the real world. The Shadows, notably, will not attack unless provoked, and the locals will not be able to see them. As always, the only way you can attack them is through using your Personas; as soon as you engage in combat, you will also disappear to the locals like the Shadows.

For those who decide not to fight them, they will simply stare at you as you leave... but they will each briefly flicker into another form: The God of Conflict. But before you can say a word, they’ll disappear.

However, should you choose to engage in battle with them, any harm done to the environment or the locals themselves through the battle will be tangible. If you slam a Jack Frost into a building, it will leave a dent, in other words. The locals will not be able to see the actual fight, but they will notice the weird explosions and damages happening to them and around them. An important thing to note is that, being outside of the Nekyia, you will drain energy faster as you fight them, but you can defeat them with your Personas as usual otherwise.

THE DARKEST BEFORE DAWN.

So, maybe you didn't spawn a Palace, or even create a weird Nekyia environment like Soujuurou and Joshua have. That, however, does not mean you are free of your Shadow selves.

However, you are trapped with them. If you venture into the Nekyia, every so often when you look over your shoulder, they may be there, watching you, taunting you, following you around, even interacting with people (yourself or others) as if they were corporeal-- blink and you may miss them hovering over your shoulder, and turn the corner and you may just see them in the distance.

What follows your Shadow selves even after you return back to the safety of the dorms are the nightmares... which you find yourself having a little more often than normal. If you happen to stumble into a shared dreamscape, it looks... slightly different from when you last saw it. The nightmares always end the same way, though, even if the dreams are different: your Shadow self is staring back at you, haunting you before you wake up.

For anyone who has already confronted their Shadow selves, however, there is a glimmer of hope. In the Shadow's place is the best version of yourself, reminding you that although this is a nightmare, it does not have to continue forever. You have changed thanks to the people around you. Perhaps this is Braphine's reminder to you that she is still here, and despite her quiet, she's still watching.

Speaking of quiet, though…

…Has anyone checked on Mina lately?

And why does a certain brown cat keep on pacing in the dormitory hallways?

( OOC: A few limitations to keep in mind regarding this prompt:
• Shadows can now appear exclusively in nightmares, in the Nekyia, OR BOTH.
• Since the Dream King has not been vanquished yet, those who want to continue the dreamscape prompt as your nightmares are free to do so (this is optional though). Your Shadows are going to be here regardless!
• In this prompt, Shadows are NOT going to possess any characters. They are haunting you in the Nekyia (and may engage with other player characters, should you desire to go that route)!
• On that note, you can let your Shadows manifest however you'd like – they can yap, they can be completely quiet and stand menacingly, they can appear in quick glimpses and jumpscare you or linger for as long as you're in the Nekyia. They can stick to you or talk to others. Either way, everyone will see each other's Shadows.
• At this time, Shadows cannot be defeated outside of Palaces and mod-run mini-events.
• The same limitations apply to those seeing their best selves over their Shadows. )

WEATHER FORECAST

Balmy weather with a light breeze. Weather looks fair and comfortable for the next two weeks but don't forget to wrap up warmly or risk catching a chill! You wouldn't want to fall sick, would you?

Characters who journey into the Nekyia when it is getting chilly may find that Shadows in combat may be randomly afflicted with Freeze during combat.

COMMISSIONS

REAL WORLD COMMISSIONS

NO HORSING AROUND

The zoo is looking for volunteers! They need hands available to feed and clean up after the petting zoo animals in particular. You won’t be dealing with lions on this job, but you will be face to face with goat kids with a penchant for headbutting, so do take care while you work!

ONE FOR THE BOOKS

A new writer is in town to promote their book at the library! The problem is... very few people signed up for the meet and greet. Library workers are looking for volunteers or, really, anyone off the street who can be convinced to at least attend the poor author’s reading and fill out the room a little. Those who do end up attending will be treated to a reading of a high fantasy tale with romance, trysts, and a surprising number of werewolves, but those who manage to stay attentive may just notice a suspicious individual slipping in partway through... A disgruntled netizen has decided to make a mess of the author’s first meet and greet, and will get violent unless someone stops them.

DABBLING IN DELINQUENCY

Some of the students on the island have decided not to return to the classroom after all - instead roaming in packs around the city and causing general mischief. Try to turn them back on the path of decency! Especially when the boldest of them decide you’re a prime pickpocketing target...

NEKYIA COMMISSIONS

FANDOM WARS

“Disgusting... Anyone could pick up that slop and read all kinds of depraved things... People who write that stuff should just die.”

It seems someone got a little too into fights online about books - because their gripes about today’s tales has created a Shadow in the form of level 39 Thoth in the Nekyia. Worse yet, those who are inflicted by Rage by this Shadow cannot be cured with a simple spell - instead, those afflicted will find themselves venting out their frustrations for their battle companion to hear. The effect ends once the battle is completed, or they finish getting everything off their chest, whichever comes first.

KILL THE LIGHTS

“Don’t they see? There’s so much money to be made! If we just expanded our influence...”

A crooked politician trying to drum up support for military activity has generated quite the shadow. A level 40 Eligor can be found deep in the Nekyia’s business district, muttering to himself about all the profits to be had with a little conflict. Needless to say, things will get very, very bad if he goes through with it - take him down before he can start anything!

HORSING AROUND

The Nekyia business district is overrun with Unicorns teaming up with Ganesha to make quite the formidable team of a fierce fighter and a powerful support. That said, those who defeat the pair may just find that their foes have dropped quite a useful healing item...

(OOC: Please turn in your threads for this commission on the rewards page to receive a Bead Chain, which fully restores HP to all allies (maximum 4 including the user) and is valid for one time use during any battle. This is only valid for the first turn in of the commission.)

OOC

READ ME!!!!

Welcome to your log for Weeks 9 and 10! Feel free to use this log for any developments that happen during the next two weeks. There will be no log next week.
We're heading into endgame and AC is due 30 September, Monday, at 2359 EST! The boon for this month's AC has been updated as well - please have a look!
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 are still going strong - sign ups for Atem (here) and Kirumi's (here) capped palaces are still open, and sign ups for our FFA palace will be going up later today.

ic comm | inboxes | ooc comm | full nav

code

Comments

[beathollow]

( after a day missing, mafuyu is taking some time to rest. but once she finally leaves her room... well, her hair's a little different. her eyes seem a bit brighter, maybe, and she seems a little lighter in general. did something happen? )

❄️ just kidding!

( maybe she's dressed appropriately for this, but she's having fun, honestly... even if she finds herself being interrupted as she works by baby goats headbutting and wanting to be held. right now, she's just trying to feed the babies... )

... They're getting rowdy...

( ... she can't even take a step forward at this point. )

❄️ sir this is a barnes and noble

( admittedly. mafuyu did not want to help. ... but she really is bad at saying no... and... well. she might as well try new things, right?

... admittedly, it's very earnest, and that's what holds her attention. so she's completely thrown off guard when another guest throws their cafe drink on the floor with a shout. )

--What?!

( ... or maybe you find her after the scuffle, if you want to discuss a ridiculously catching novel. )

❄️ nekiya

( mafuyu is quiet, cautious. she's only utility, after all, but- there's work to do, isn't there?

will you help? )

❄️ wildcard

( do your thing! ... but since i ran a palace yesterday i'm not super interested in shadow stuff right now. )

closed to arven, post atem's palace

[beathollow]

( maybe he went to go check on her in her room to find nothing there. maybe he was coming back from an errand, or about to leave- regardless, it's not a comforting sight: mafuyu, in her pyjamas and cardigan, sitting in the courtyard crying into her hands.

she must be out of it, since even with her natural hyper-awareness, she doesn't seem to notice anyone else. )

[supherb]

[After the events of Mafuyu's palace, Arven's been regularly swinging by to check on her and make sure she's resting well. He'd come by with a tray of simple foods for her to snack on and a cup of apple tea, but it would be abandoned the moment he discovered that she wasn't there. Trying to reach her on her phone was a no-go as well.

After some fretful searching, he finally comes across her in the courtyard...and his heart sinks further.]

Mafuyu!

[He breaks into a sprint and kneels down beside her. She's still in her pajamas and everything...was she whisked away to a palace?]

I'm here, Mafuyu. [He puts a gentle arm around her.] What happened? Are you okay?

[beathollow]

( she gasps softly at the contact before realizing who it is. arven-

... she keeps causing him trouble...

an apology almost leaves her lips but instead she just clings, burying her face into his shoulder for a moment. )


... It's... been a really bad day. I- Atem's palace...

( her voice is a bit hoarse. )

[supherb]

[He shifts to bring her into a proper embrace so that she may hide herself for as long as she needs.

He draws in a breath. So it was a palace. Atem's behavior earlier in the week makes complete sense now.]

Were you successful?

[It sure doesn't sound good, but he doesn't want to assume the worst.]

[beathollow]

Yes.

( immediately- no repeats of his own awful experience. but...

she inhales, turning to rest her head against him as she rubs her eyes. )

... I appeared halfway through, so I'm not sure why, but... when we got to Atem, he put several people in "penalty games" that trapped them in harmful hallucinations. I-

( her breath hitches, here. )

It felt like Joshua was dying in my arms- and the others...

wildcard!!!!

[finalmix]

[ hey mafuyu are you heading into the kitchen recently

because the air kind of smells like sugar cookies

and joshua, playing on his phone, clearly watching the oven timer every so often



hm. ]

[beathollow]

( oh shit, he can bake? she thought he was kind of that sort of rich kid who doesn't do anything for himself.




she's never admitting this aloud.

still, she's just here to get a drink, so... ... wait, cookies... )

... Hello.

[finalmix]

[ this is happening far too often but hey!!! stop perceiving him!!!!




anyway mafuyu is getting a casual wave, and then joshua glances over at the oven timer. hm. two minutes left. ]

If you want to stay for a bit, they're almost done.

[beathollow]

( what part of NEVER do you not get, angelboy? )

Alright. I have to admit, I didn't think you baked...

I can make some tea, if you'd like.

[finalmix]

[ he will fight it for as long as he can ://// ]

I have many hidden talents~

[ he literally just. followed a recipe. not perfectly, but probably decently enough. ]

Sure, if you don't mind~ you're not a coffee person, are you?

Just kidding

[needsteaplz]

[Saori's bottle feeding one of the kids, who is drinking like there's no tomorrow. She gives them a pat on the head.]

Well, I mean they are....kids. Gods, Kenichi's dad jokes are rubbing off of me... They're either getting rowdy because they have a lot more energy to burn or they're really hungry!

[No sooner does she say that, another kid headbutts her leg, clearly ready for their turn at the bottle.]

gasps. a mom.

[beathollow]

--Oh! Um. Hello...

( ... is this someone new or is she really bad at names and also faces. )

I'm Mafuyu.

( oh, but she can't dawdle for too long, there are babies who very much want food. as she crouches down, one immediately hops into her lap. hey. hi. aaaaaaaaaaaa-aaaa. food please! )

[needsteaplz]

Nice to meet you, Mafuyu! I'm Saori. Just arrived here recently.

[She picks up the one that headbutted her and sits down with them on her lap. They immediately latch onto the offered bottle.]

Goodness, they sure are hungry! They act like they never had a meal in their life!

[beathollow]

They really do. Its a little cute though, so I can't say I mind too much... if they'd just let me stand up long enough to get the refills when I need to...

( she sighs a bit dramatically as she lets the one in her lap take the bottle, gently petting its side. )

sir this is a barnes and noble

[pointzeropercent]

[He's stepping up right as the guy throws the coffee.

He turns on his phone and starts filming as he calls out to the guy:]

Wow! I didn't expect to see a grown man throw a tantrum today!

[It is taking all of his courage to do this right now. He hates confrontation too.]

sou my beloved

[beathollow]

( mafuyu blinks, still trying to figure out what's going on. she can't figure out what happened at a glance, and the other guests seem just as shocked.

--sou? ... he's always been more quiet, hasn't he? she wouldn't be surprised if this was really outside of his comfort zone. )

... Honestly. ( even as quiet as her voice is, the judgement is scathing. ) Absolutely nothing is worth this sort of fuss.

[pointzeropercent]

[He's so proud of you, Mafuyu.]

See? Nobody here wants to deal with this nonsense. So how about you pick up that cup and go on your way?

[He is prepared to blackmail this guy if need be. Do not underestimate him, he will find out your home and work address within an hour.]

[beathollow]

( the man seems flabbergasted at being called out, caught off guard. but he winds up not being deterred at all (9) and demands sou put that "fuckin' phone down". )

If you don't want to be recorded, don't act out. It's that simple. We're just protecting ourselves.

[pointzeropercent]

What she said. After all, it would be a shame if this got back to your employer, wouldn't it?

[I rolled an 18 for intimidation too lol]

Just Kidding

[silentfury]

[Thankfully, dealing with rowdy animals is something Yuri is very experienced at. He positions himself in front of Mafuyu and kneels down, allowing himself to be a target for the goats' fury. Being in the crossfire of a few headbutts is nothing!]

Re: Just Kidding

[beathollow]

--Oh!

( the kids seem delighted. a climbing rock! yaaay!

mafuyu just giggles a bit. )

Thank you.

[silentfury]

[Typing a message on a phone while baby goats climb you like particularly solid stone is quite difficult! But Yuri seems to manage well enough:

Of course. How have you been?]

[beathollow]

I... um. I had a palace this weekend, but... I think I might be better off now? If that makes sense. But today's been good, if not a little busy.

( a baby goat just yells. SUCH a mighty scream. )

What about you? It's been a bit...

[silentfury]

[Yuri's eye twitches a bit. It's readily obvious that the scream rattled his brain a little, but he shakes it off relatively quickly.

Slaying demons, trying to get used to talking to people... It's still difficult, but I'm doing better than I would've back home. So that's good, I think?]