WEEKS 11 & 12

[linkupmods]

WEEKS 11 & 12

YOU CAN'T GET OFF THE RIDE...

The dream king has been vanquished, and with it, everyone’s dreams have returned to normal. For those who have had trouble sleeping in the past few weeks, that’s a relief, right?

You know what they say - one step forward, two steps back.

The border between the Nekyia and the real world is thinning - watch your step, Chosen. With your Shadows still haunting you at every opportunity, turn the corner and you may find yourself suddenly in the Nekyia, tendrils of dark fog curling around your feet even though you’ve spent so much effort trying to clear the previous districts of fog and shadows. Blink, and you’ll find yourself back where you were in the real world, with everyone looking at you quizzically because for a moment, you disappeared.

Braphine’s temple is oddly silent. Where there were once priests and priestesses around the courtyards and the main building, now, when you visit, there is nobody around to attend to you. Walking through the halls of the temple now feels fraught with danger, almost - look into a mirror for too long, and your Shadow may end up looking back at you.

Speaking of attendants – maybe you should check in on your local priestess.

Thanks to everyone’s help with the Business District, it is now... actually, it’s more or less the way it always has been. People are still standoffish, and there’s a tension in the air - it feels like just one little spark is all that’s needed to start an argument or a fight.

In fact, it isn’t even only the Business District suffering these effects. Though specific individuals may retain a fondness for characters who helped them, the population overall seems to have regained its old vitriol towards each other. The Chosen saw for themselves the positive impact they were able to have on the City - what in the world could have reversed it all...?

TEMPTATION TOUCHED MY TONGUE...

You blink, and it’s there. Blink again, and it vanishes.

Perhaps your eyes are playing tricks on you, but where there used to be a park just outside the dorms, now lies a large orange grove. It does, however, look a little shadowy around the edges, like it’s not supposed to be there - and the strange thing is that it can only be seen by Braphine’s chosen. Asking any of the passers by will just net you bewildered looks.

Despite the roiling storm and the grey clouds outside, the sky in the orange grove is clear when you enter into it.

You are surrounded by the smell of orange blossoms, and as the scent envelops you, a strange feeling of unsettlement starts to build.

The oranges are in the right season for harvesting, and somehow you get an irresistible urge to pick one and bite into it. But biting into it comes at a price– you start to forget. It could be a memory, a part of you, or worse, one of the bonds you have made here.

The more of the oranges you eat, the deeper you fall into the grove, and perhaps, just perhaps, you might come into contact with a familiar face that gives you a warning before you fall too deep into it. Keep eating and you won't just forget. You’ll start wanting to eat things that aren’t meant to be eaten too.

After meeting with “Schneider”, you realise there’s only one way out of this hazy mess: help others to help yourself. It could be collecting little memories that glitter like “stars” amongst the trees, and walking people back to the scattered fragments of themselves.

Or it could be helping the shadowy farm workers, who look at you with disdain and ask:

“You city folk here to do some real work for once? Hurry up.”

They ask you to do a number of chores: chopping up firewood, cleaning stables, harvesting the oranges (but don’t you dare eat them without permission) and planting new trees. There’s also a church that you could help clean up and donate your funds towards which makes the shadowy figures very happy. Schneider will not be.

Each successful chore completed is another “part” of yourself returned, and the better equipped you are to help the people around you. Better start working.

It’s odd though. When you look outside the orange grove, it’s almost like the raindrops are moving in reverse.

(OOC: Schneider's top level is NOT time sensitive, nor is it a mod-run event. This can be treated like a regular top level to be tagged at your own pace! Welcome to your memloss event!)

WEATHER FORECAST

Gloomy. Grey skies about, and the sun seems to have hidden itself away for some reason. When it isn’t raining or storming, there somehow seems to always be the sound of thunder rolling in the distance. Eagle-eyed characters may even notice a metallic glint through the clouds, every now and then...

Characters that venture into the Nekyia during these two weeks will find themselves occasionally being afflicted with Dizzy during combat. Watch your step.

COMMISSIONS

TREASURE THE TEMPLE

Without the Priest or Priestess to care for the temple, it continues to grow dustier and more dismal by the day. Characters who work together to help with upkeep - dusting, sweeping, wiping down surfaces, even airing it out by opening up the windows - will not only receive the regular rewards, but also find themselves imbued with a gentle desire to spend some time taking care of those they care about, too.

MASTERS OF THEIR ELEMENT

There are Level 50 Shadows to be found in the Nekyia, though thankfully they are not on the prowl. One can be found in each cardinal and intercardinal direction: Garuda in the East, Surt in the South, Scathach in the West, and Fafnir to the North, as well as Dionysus in the North East, Michael in the North West, Alitat in the South West, and Belial in the South East. Each of these enemies has punishing attacks, and will need to be taken on by groups of three or more characters. However, upon defeat they will drop a stone that glows with a soft light that corresponds to an element colour (e.g. pink for Psy, red for Fire); offer these to Braphine’s temple to give the goddess strength, and receive a Magatama in that particular element.

(OOC: Please turn in your threads for this commission on the rewards page to receive an Elemental Magatama which deals medium damage to one target in one specific element, and is valid for one time use during any battle. This is only valid for the first turn in of the commission.)

BONDS AND CONNECTIONS

”My connection to Sunset City has been interrupted... I no longer have the strength to support you as I did before. Look out for each other, and keep forging new bonds; they will protect you when I cannot.”

While characters have gained strength from the bonds they’ve forged, there are still those who are freshly arrived with no such defenses; characters who make the effort to establish relationships with faces they have not interacted with much so far will be rewarded. If the character has not been used for a Social Link writeup, they are fair game! Characters may choose what activities they partake in at their own leisure, whether that’s battling alongside one another in the Nekyia or using one of those coupons for a free dinner at a fancy restaurant. They should, however, have a focus on getting to know each other during the activity.

OOC

READ ME!!!!

Welcome to your log for Weeks 11 and 12! Feel free to use this log for any developments that happen during the next two weeks.
Please note that there will be no log next week BUT there will be a network post going up for endgame plot purposes going up once Week 11's palaces are complete!
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 Haruka's palace are underway and will start later today, and our Clover (capped) and Moon (FFA) palaces will be going up later this weekend!
Don't forget to check in with AC to get your endgame unlocks and submit your rewards/Rank 10 social links before 20 October, 11:59PM EST!

ic comm | inboxes | ooc comm | full nav

code

Comments

into the orange grove

[unweathered]

[ The orange trees in the grove are tall and strong, all lined up in neat rows. They're well loved trees, brimming with ripe fruit, ready for the picking - provided of course, you can climb up and gather the ones at the very top.

At the centre of the grove is Schneider--at least, it looks like Schneider. She's younger though, and her eyes aren't red but gold. She's singing to herself.

"London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down~"

She peels an orange, splitting it apart, a fleshy mess that spills over her hands and then looks up and smiles]

Oh. Are you a friend? Are you here to work? We need so many workers, you know. You're not stupid enough to eat things you shouldn't, are you?

[ It's a beautiful day. Perfect for fruit picking. Wont you join her?

After all, the longer you spend in this space without doing anything, you wont just lose memories, but your sense of "what is proper to eat". Suddenly, scoffing down mouthfuls of cash and gold bars seems like a brilliant idea. People are greedy after all. Schneider will help you out of it...provided you say all the right things.

Warnings: Schneider's shadow will have references to pica, starvation, poverty, religious abuse, and mentions of drugs and alcohol]

[bloodandstars]

[ Another little Schneider, and not in the realm of memories this time. Maika's starting to feel experienced at this — even putting aside Golga.

Which she's not. Not really. She tilts her head at the child, sniffing reflexively at the sweet-sharp orange scent flooding the air. ]

I don't know about that, little cat. I've eaten a lot of things I shouldn't.

[ Such is life. But not here. Although the more she smells that orange, the more her stomach starts grumbling again. ]

What work do you need? Doesn't look like there's any end to it.

[unweathered]

[Little cat?]

We need to harvest lots and lots of oranges before the season is over. Mama said so.

[Cheerfully bouncing on the balls of her feet]

You look like you're good at climbing.

[bloodandstars]

[ Yep! That's what she is!! Not "kitten," which would be a different and much weirder thing. ]

You've got good eyes. Let me guess. You're trying to con me into getting the ones up high?

[unweathered]

[suspicious...if Schneider had any sense of stranger danger as a child! lol. lol]

Mmm...those are the ones that sell best.

[roll a 1d20 to decide if Maika gets attacked by birds up there or not]

[bloodandstars]

Wonder why. Because they get the most sunlight?

[ But a task will take her mind off of the scent of oranges everywhere! She hefts herself up into the tree

where, I'm guessing from her (1), she is about to become the "the eyes don't work!!" swooping video reenacted ]

[moodwrecker]

[Looks at mini-Schneider.

Looks around like she needs to make sure she's not on a prank TV show or something, a very real possibility (not really).]

...Of course I know better.

You're just picking oranges?

[unweathered]

[Mini Schneider...shadow. But where is the real one? Who knows]

I don't know...some people have been really stupid and ate things without permission.

[Hint, hint]

Mn! We need to finish the harvest by the end of the week. Or the oranges wont be any good anymore. I'm too small to help with the other jobs.

[moodwrecker]

We just have to climb up and start picking?

[...Okay, well, sounds easy enough. She's going to actually start trying to climb!]

[unweathered]

Yeah! Adults always complain about it but I think it's fun.

[ Easy... but there is a feeling of being watched by hungry angry birds.

roll d20 for potential bird attack]

[moodwrecker]

[She gets a 13 as she climbs up!]

[strawsandals]

[ The gold eyes are telling. Yoon... He looks at her with a frown. He doesn't want to hurt her, and he won't, not under any circumstance. He just hopes others won't feel the need to do so instead. ]

Of course I'm not. Here.

[ He'll get next to her and start picking. ]

[unweathered]

[ The shadow Schneider watches with interest, taking the oranges Yoon hands over. And because Yoon has the medical knowledge, he can tell at an instant that this Schneider is too skinny, too pale for someone who works out in the sun. Both underfed and sickly, with her drab gray dress too big for her]

You work much better than the people from the city. Are you from somewhere like here?

[strawsandals]

[ Her body structure tells him a lot, perhaps not everything he needs to know but it's telling all the same. It's why his answer comes out with relative ease. ]

Maybe so. I didn't grow up very fortunate.

[ But she's right in that he is efficient at what he does, at least. ]

Are you feeling alright?

[unweathered]

Yes. [ The girl says it automatically, as if she's been trained to do so] Work doesn't end until the baskets are full. Then we'll have enough money for more flour and oil.

[ Even if after she finishes climbing, she ends up coughing hard]

[strawsandals]

I see. We'd better-

[ The coughing, though, gives him pause. Yoon pulls out a water flask from his bag and hands it to her. ]

Here. Drink.

[moonshaded]

[It's not her first time running into Schneider in the body of the child. This is different. Probably. But it's also probably not a coincidence.

Even little Schneider('s Shadow) is sharp. There's a smart-mouthed little shit in there for sure.]

Are you?

[Her eyes linger on the orange, torn into appealing, juicy sections in Schneider's hands. It's hard not to think about the rich feast of the damned in her dream. The smell of fresh citrus is tempting; anything would be, compared to that.] Unless they made a small fry like you the boss.

[unweathered]

Boss? It is not like that here.

[ Schneider's shadow smiles and laughs, delighted to see someone treat her as is. Her eyes are yellow than red, glittering with amusement. She holds out an orange piece, juicy and tempting. She does not answer the first question]

One girl took it without thinking once. We nearly died. A couple of gun shots to the body. But she remembered.

[moonshaded]

[She has never once been fooled. The little girl shouldn't fool her, even with the gold-red-gold patter of her eyes and the way "we" sounds light and airy and natural coming out of her mouth. She should be instigating so the "real fight" can happen. Instead, she hesitates - a split-second pause that in the past has nearly gotten her killed.

Maybe it's guilt, too, that keeps her hand still. She remembers the park. Like many things that might be her fault, she keeps that to herself, secret and deep where it can prick her.

Kainé takes the orange section - also without thinking, but probably not the same way - but doesn't eat it.] How'd she remember? Did somebody come for you?

[unweathered]

In a duel, one person has to die. But deaths can be faked. [Schneider takes a piece for herself and eats it. Depending on Kaine's mood, the orange might smell temptingly sweet and delicious (1) or it might smell of the bitter tang of rust like old blood (2).]

She remembered.

[moonshaded]

So, the trick is to die without dying, huh? You're handing out mysteries too now [of all people]... troublesome smartass.

[Her mood is very bad, thank you, but there's something still sweet about the orange. Maybe it comes from a hope for there to be something nice in the wake of the coin and the ash and the slime. The girl eats, so she eats.

Before any more wedges can be peeled, Kainé crouches down and takes the child shadow's wrist in her hand. It fits easily in the loop of her fingers, which is good - if she squeezed too hard, she might remember that the only thing she's good at when it comes to these Shadows is fighting them.]

Are you gonna make this easy for me? Tell me how to find her, and maybe you won't be worrying about another duel. [Maybe she won't sabotage the crew's efforts by kicking a child's ass.]

[privatedomicile]

[How the hell did he end up in an orange grove trying to find that one scary shadow? Jesse looks around for something that looks like a way out, but then he notices a familiar looking little girl. ...well, being nice worked with the doll in Mafuyu's palace, and this is just baby Schneider.]

Hola. [Wrong, Jesse. That's Spanish.] Yeah, I'm totally a friend. So we just gotta pick some oranges from up there, right? Let's roll.

Things I shouldn't eat? What, are we not allowed to have the fruit?

[unweathered]

[This damn American... Baby Schneider doesn't notice though]

Mmmhmm... you can, but. Maybe you already ate one. I don't know. But helping us with fruit picking would be good! We can go to America if we make enough money

[privatedomicile]

[Is this the kind of life Schneider lived back when she was a kid? No wonder she styles herself the way she does now if that's the case. Good for her, Jesse thinks. Work it if you've managed to get ahead in life!]

Haha, sounds sick. I'm from America, so I can take you to all the cool places. They've got burgers the size of your face at this one diner back home, you'd love 'em.

[unweathered]

What's...a burger.

[Very very serious question here.]