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

[unweathered]

[The last monster breaks through, scraping along Kaine's arm--but they get to the car just in time. Schneider slams the door shut with a shriek that's very much unlike her. It's not something she remembers happening at all, not like this. But the haunting visage, knowing what was here]

Drive-! The refuge camp. I need to get to her. Marian-!

[It's not real. She already knows Marian is...

not here.

But if she can turn it around, see Marian properly one more time...]

[moonshaded]

[She has dreams like this sometimes when she isn't reaching for phantoms of something lost a long time ago. For her, these things are a foregone conclusion. There's pretty much only one way it ends. Always too late.]

I'm working on it! [Kainé has no fucking clue how to drive a car, but it's Schneider's nightmare, and maybe she deserves to have a little control over it. Her usually brash hands are uncharacteristically clumsy as they search for the right controls, bashing against button and lever until Kainé finds the thing that will make the vehicle go. She's about to become the most reckless driving savant this collapsing world has ever seen, with the storm making the road even more perilous.

She feels like she knows exactly where to go, but maybe there was only ever one place to go from the beginning. So she drives, aimlessly, but the car will move according to what needs to happen. Even if she's behind the wheel, she's kind of just along for the ride, isn't she?]

[unweathered]

[ It's a dream with no freedom to chose, every moment carefully designed to tug at Schneider's longing, her fear, her repressed rage that was always simmering beneath the surface of her fickle manner and apathy.

They drive recklessly, careening through the dead woods as the rain crashes down on the car and the monsters crash down from after them. It vanished into the void and there's only one way forward now. Kaine is here. It's a difference. It should be different. So much is already and yet--]

There. There!

[They come to a camp and Schneider throws herself out of the car without waiting for it to roll to a stop. All around them are people, screaming and crying, some desperately pulling at restraints as they cry for food-- gold bar, a coin, cash, anything-- while doctors run around, trying to stop people from ingesting anymore]

Kaine, do you see her? Marian! Marian! Please, mia soretta! I don't want you to disappear again!

[ It's a child's cry, desperate and broken and lost in the crowd as the rain comes down, a gentle patter now. But Schneider is no longer a child. She's a full grown woman, staggering around, looking desperate.

And there's a woman there, surrounded by attending nurses, with a striking resemblance to Schneider. Older. Taller, healthier looking even. And she's holding a bible to her chest, chanting frantically]

[moonshaded]

[She can feel it: It makes her nauseous how overpowering the hopelessness and desperation feels. "Disappear again..." It must get so hopeless every time. Kainé strangles those feelings the best she can; it's just a dream, and it isn't even hers.

She doesn't need to know a lot of families to spot the resemblance between the two of them. It might look bad, but Kainé inhales before looking back over her shoulder at Schneider - grown again, but just as lost as a child.]

Here. [Her voice is a register deeper than usual, quiet and low in contrast with Schneider's desperation.] Over here. Hey, make some room, her sister's here.

[But when Schneider comes close, Kainé will also drop her hand to her shoulder, almost without thinking. She doesn't know if what she sees will be what she wants, and she'll hold her back before she throws herself away for something stupid.]

cw: emetophobia 1/2

[unweathered]

[Kaine's hand is warm, and in a clearer moment, Schneider would have had a moment of gratitude. But she's kneeling by her sister's bed, a thin little cot in the middle of a disaster zone, reaching for a cold, cold hand that doesn't feel real at all]

Sister. Dear sister. This is not how it ends. It was...kinder. You had one last wish, yes? A big dinner, with everyone because you always loved family the most.

[Marian's eyes flicker open and she turns over, mouth opening but words not coming out. There's a rosary and cross clutched weakly to her chest, and her mouth keeps opening and closing, as if chanting an unknown prayer. Then she turns over, gagging and retching and Schneider draws in a sharp breath as black viscous slime splatters on the dead burnt out grass, bits and pieces of green paper coming up with it]

Ah. No, no.

[I'm sorry. Good bye. Marian seems to say, her eyes lingering on her sister and than on Kaine behind her. Lightning crackles across the sky followed by an explosion of thunder. Then they blink and there's nothing left of Marian anymore but a pile of clothes, dust and a rosary that Schneider hated deeply.

Then there's nothing around them but piles of dust and clothes, drifting with the wind that blows into the tent]

2/2

[unweathered]

[In the deafening silence that was louder than the pattering rain, Schneider doesn't weep or scream. She stares vacantly in front of her as she stands up, unsteady...

Then she turns to Kaine, smiles and throws her arms around this oddly gentle person who masked her kindness with aggression, as strength finally gives out from her, leaving Schneider coughing hard and panting for air]

This is it again, I think. The same ending. Over and over. But...this time, you are here.

[moonshaded]

Fuck.

[She actually recoils as Marian convulses, but when the girl disappears, it just shocks Kainé into stillness. It just takes the same time as a strike of lightning. There's nothing gory or prolonged about it, but does it matter? This is where the nightmare ends up anyway, no matter how long it takes to get here - why should that part matter to Schneider at all?

When they're the only ones left, she catches the other girl with grim, solid arms. Hearing the depth of her cough fills her with the same inevitable sinking silence Kainé felt watching people succumb to the Black Scrawl.]

You asshole... what do you mean? I'm here, but I'm not... [She wasn't able to fix or change anything. It wasn't even kinder like Schneider said it could have been. She's been too tight and still in Schneider's arms for a while, but now she presses one hand against the small of her back and the other beneath her shoulder and holds. Why the fuck is she smiling?] ... You can't. Not you, too.

[unweathered]

[ Schneider keeps smiling even as her body wracks with pain. It was like this back then too with her, wasn't it? Same response. Same feeling of denial. She reaches up, cupping Kaine's cheek, trying to drink up any warmth she can]

This is my world, where ordinary humans would be sifted out by the storm. And...I was just that...an ordinary human with nothing special. No luck. [ She had said as much, hadn't she?] The storm came to my era and I was sifted out with the rest of it. This...is my reality.

[She exhaling softly and drops her head against Kaine's shoulder, pressing close]

Hold me. Please. Just until...

[A beat of her heart, pounding low in her veins and the last of the hour glass trickles to a stop. The rain intensifies and then Schneider is gone too, nothing more than sand and clothes.

Kaine is all alone now in this dark, endless storm because even in this nightmare she is special. She would have been chosen.

Schneider is sure of it.

And then, reality shatters into pieces, sinking Kaine through a deep dark abyss...

And when she blinks again, she's back in Nekiya, the door to Schneider's dream worlds drifting away like sand along the shoreline]