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

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Comments

[vogelfrei]

There is only one person here who is so lacking in common sense that he'd mistake a kiss for a fight.

[ And McGillis would at the very least hope that Rutile also doesn't know a great many people such total cluelessness would apply to. ]

If you meet him and speak to him more, you'll quickly find that such bizarre points of confusion are not isolated incidents.

[speedingticket]

[ Rutile doesn't say anything for a brief moment; he minds his tea, filling his mug with the water and setting the steeper in, watching the water color as the it takes the flavor of whatever's left of the camomile. In the meanwhile, he looks for the words he wants to say— ]

I sort of got that impression. [ Not knowing that men could have romantic relations, not understanding a basic euphemism such as birds and the bees...

He leans against the counter, cupping his hands on his, well, cup. ] But I also was under the impression that wasn't really his fault. It sounded as though he didn't have anyone at home to teach him. [ It wasn't Riquet's fault that his cult never taught him how to read, or ever fed him a warm meal, was it? ] Yelling at him and calling him names for something out of his control did not seem very kind.

[ To his credit, he did delete the post...

... ]

Please don't yell at him.

[vogelfrei]

[ McGillis is certainly aware that Soujuurou has a lot of... circumstances that lead to him turning out the way he did. You don't spawn a semi-palace if that isn't the case.

Rutile's earnest plea kind of takes the wind out of his petty indignation here. ]

I won't.

[ That isn't to say he won't chastise him, but he's not the yelling type to begin with. So... safe on that front? ]

I didn't expect he was yelled at in the first place, though. Frankly, I am imagining that most people here found this hilarious.

[speedingticket]

Good.

[ A little tension seems to ease in Rutile's shoulders when he gets McGillis's affirmation. He'll take his word, no question.

After taking a sip of his tea and tilting his head in thought, he looks up at McGillis with wide eyes. ]

They did? [ Huh... ] Over the misconception and misunderstanding?

[vogelfrei]

[ Mhmm... does he elaborate here or doesn't he? Well, it doesn't matter much. In the end, Rutile will get this information from someone else sooner or later. ]

Izou and I were in a physical fight a while ago. It was a very public affair because it needed to be broken up to prevent the worst.

[ Embarrassing... McGillis is sipping his coffee and trying to look as neutral as possible here. ]

The event was already widely ridiculed after the fact, in part as what I assume was intended punishment, so to see us wind up in a different kind of... situation... Well. It would amuse a good few.

[speedingticket]

[ Oh. Rutile relaxes a bit as he takes another sip. Not the post, but the situation. He gets it now, he gets it.

He doesn't say anything right away. He's too busy studying McGillis. He buys the neutral expression. ]

I suppose there can really be only one way to see where you stand with someone by doing both. [ Fighting and fucking? Yes. Did he say fucking? No, but they both start with F. ] I suppose it might be shocking to an outsider, but...that must mean he's still important to you, isn't he?

[ In one way or another. ]

[vogelfrei]

[ 'See where you stand' does feel like it hits the nail right on the head, and McGillis nods at it. Going through all extremes is an interesting way of testing the limit of what you be to a person.

Is Izou important...? Well. ]

He's a person of interest, certainly.

You're being very understanding about all this. I would have expected someone so invested in romantics to be more appalled.

[speedingticket]

[ "Person of interest" sure is a way to put it!

Rutile isn't even half expecting the conversation to be turned on him, so he tilts his head in slight surprise. ]

Is that so?

[ He can't see why anyone would be appalled by two people exploring their relationship with one another, but...then again...

He looks into his tea and tries to articulate his thoughts. ]

...I only arrived here recently, but it's so clear to me that everyone comes from different worlds, and they're bringing different cultures with them. I try to be as understanding with people from different countries in my own world, so of course I want to extend the same understanding to everyone I meet here.

[ Akira is so kind and open-minded to be as willing to work with and to get to know the rest of them... If anything, this whole ordeal is giving Rutile a new appreciation for everything their sage has gone through. ]

It would be mean of me to judge.

[vogelfrei]

[ That response is so good, it might as well be scripted from a guidance counselor. McGillis is impressed, even as he feels like the sentiment is a little too good to be true - examining your biases is certainly a good thing, but they're still going to creep up on you in ways that are hard to predict and prevent.

Still, A for effort. ]

I see now why you were so patient with Soujuurou. Our ragtag group is going to benefit from that mindset - which makes me wonder if the goddess didn't perhaps bring you in very deliberately.

[speedingticket]

[ He is a rural schoolteacher, for good reason! Writing and math aren't the only things he has to teach children. He feels somewhat blessed his mother was a Northerner, and what he doesn't know is that one of the men that raised him after his parents' deaths is as worldwide as he can hope...

That, and it's something he makes a conscious effort to do. He can always be better.

Though he isn't really expecting the conversation to be turned on him like this. He's mid-sip with his tea, and all he really manages is a strained, sheepish smile. ]

You think so? I'd be happy if I could be of help in any manner, but... [ Huh, wait a second. ] ...Is that really uncommon amongst you?

[ As in, the open mindset??? ]