WEEKS 9 & 10

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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

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Comments

[townmusician]

[The movie isn't super impressive, even though the concept of it isn't the worst. A bit cliché, but any impact the movie could have is ruined by the style over substance approach to its directing.

Not that he complains, not that there's anyone to complain too, even though he's pretty sure he caught one of the super tall guys entering the theater before him...? Strange, but he could give it a pass if not for how he suddenly feels chatty. He tries to push aside the feeling because it's rude to talk in theaters, and even if the movie sucks it's not like he has anything to say. He doesn't.]

I always knew it was strange that I didn't have any parents. Everyone always got so weird about it when they found out they died, but it's not like I ever really knew them.

[And he had his grandmother, even if he knew, he knew that he made her life harder. If her no-good son was still alive, her life would have been so much easier. The house would be in better shape, she wouldn't have to cook and clean for some kid, and she'd be happier.

(She loved him, and Haruka loves his grandmother, but that doesn't mean he didn't know.)]

So when Kujou offered to make me his son, I thought it was a great chance for me to find a place for myself. I was so stupid, and I should have known better. He just wanted me to sing, to be his perfect idol, but I'd never be more perfect than Tenn.

[He was never a part of the family. For all that he could say Acchan was his sister and for all that that's how he saw her, the fact that is that he would never have a family at all—it would always just be himself, on his own, looking at what he couldn't have.

(But he was so young when Kujou approached him, so could he really have known better? He just wanted to find any way to make things easier for the only person who had ever shown him any kindness, to make everyone happy, to have people who were glad he existed.)

And then he got thrown away, because Haruka never belonged with them. He never mattered. He was also just another expendable experiment, one of the many who Kujou raised and discarded.]

But whatever. Fuck him, anyways. I don't need to find a place to belong.

[prozaic]

[Shalem is leaning against his armrest, chin on his hand, as he listens to Haruka's story. It does explain some things! Not everything, but enough that Shalem can start to fill in more about his knowledge.]

You'll carve your own place. You're that sort.

[townmusician]

[God. Everyone heard that, huh? Probably fair, considering he knows what everyone else said, somehow... (He does not understand how these places work and he probably never will.)

Still, he can't help being embarrassed. It's not like him to say so much so casually.]

Am I? Well, maybe it'll happen. I'm fine with whatever happens even if I end up on my own.

[...Hm.]

[prozaic]

No, you will not be. [Calling him tf out.]

That's why I said you'll end up carving one of your own. Bratty as you are, you have a strong personality.

[townmusician]

[Hey why is he getting called out???]

So I wouldn't be fine on my own, but you will be?

[He looks over at Shalem, huffy.]

I don't want to make another assumption, again, but c'mon. Don't be so gloomy all the time.

[prozaic]

I told you, I will be a traveler, enjoying myself without restriction.

[townmusician]

[He thinks that sounds awfully lonely, still, but... Maybe it's being terminal, maybe he just is more suited to isolation than Haruka is, but either way Haruka snorts and rolls his eyes.]

Alright, alright. You'll be free as...

[...]

Well, not a bird. But free as a snake is a weird turn of phrase...?

[prozaic]

I will simply be free. Perhaps it will not be as extended ad it would be if I stay put and take my medicines, but I will still be free.

[townmusician]

You can't take medicines with you?

[He. Does not actually know much about the treatments for Shalem's condition, besides him mentioning all they did was ease the discomfort.]

But... No, nevermind.

[prozaic]

Are you concerned about my lifespan?

[townmusician]

...No. I'm worried you'll suffer and put on a brave face about it and be... lonely, I guess. But if you're happy and you only live a few years then that's better than living longer but being miserable and holding yourself back from being who you are.

[He looks down at his feet, fiddling with his sleeves again.]

[prozaic]

I see. You're worried about me

[Shalem beckons him to come closer. No context.]

[townmusician]

[He has the decency to not react too defensively lest he get the attention of certain shitty old men in the theater with them, but he does look awfully pouty as he steps closer to Shalem.

He's suspicious.... What are you up to, sir...]

[prozaic]

[Let the shitty men stare, Shalem is older than most of them save for Izou.

And he lacks the shame to care about public displays (5) because he gives Haruka quick kiss on the lips to fluster him.]

Your concern is appreciated.

[beautifulknight]

[ Weird. Argenti was here all along.

He isn't certain about what's going on here, but he's watching all that is happening before him - and, ah. A vampire?

There's only one vampire that he knows of here!

...But, he supposes he must share this one thing where he felt like an outsider. Argenti is pretty sure people have a fairly good idea of his entirety of what happened to him so there's further motivation even if he was not around to say something-

He does take the time to share his (just not posting it in a separate because there is a cleared comment and don't want to take away from that!) But, he turns his attention towards Haruka. ]

...I believe that your sentiment is true.

You are fine just the way that you are.

[townmusician]

[He was there the whole time, so Haruka doesn't get jumpscared by his sudden appearance!

He is, however, thrown for a loop by what Argenti says, blinking at him owlishly for a moment. That's... not something that he gets told a lot, but he manages to recover.]

Hey, I'd like to think I'm more than just fine! I'm great like this.

[100%!! He's the best.]