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

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Comments

[linkmakers]

[Looking up blearily.]

Oh... uh, I think so? ...My water might've run out, though.

[So a very good thing he brought some with him!]

[beautifulknight]

[ She looks like she is having a hard time indeed.

Argenti holds out the container of water to her; it's not in a glass. Rather, it's in a plastic bottle. ]

Here. You'll need to stay hydrated.

How long have you been feeling sick?

[linkmakers]

[Taking it gratefully and sitting up to drink.]

I was really tired the last few weeks but... I didn't think I was sick. The doctor didn't see anything wrong with me, either.

[beautifulknight]

[ That's worrisome. He wonders what this even means...that she was this level of sick after being so tired - though, the exhaustion may have something to do with Oberon, this is still a harder to identify source.

Which to him leaves only one other possibility... ]

It must be the influence of the God of Conflict at work if there is no discernable reason. There have been oddities affecting this side as well as time goes on.

Have you spoken to your Goddess about this?

[linkmakers]

...I tried to, but she hasn't been answering me since I started feeling this sick.

I just... don't understand. You were doing so well... how did he get so strong?

[beautifulknight]

[ Argenti goes quiet, looking thoughtful at this. ]

...While it is true we were able to bond, there have been elements wherein we were all in conflict with one another.

That could have been enough to jumpstart the gathering in power. Not to mention, the fact that the mere nature of Palaces themselves involves engaging in battle, with conflict itself being unavoidable despite the resolutions.

Even so, a god is not invincible to being defeated. He too shall eventually fall in battle.

[ There's a small pause. ]

Though, I wonder if the Goddess Braphine is alright in the midst of this.

[linkmakers]

[No god is invincible, indeed... The words seem to give her pause.]

...I hope so, too. Ugh... I wish there was something I could do for you guys.

[But instead, here she is! Being sick!!]

[beautifulknight]

...You could rest.

[ Because resting is definitely 'helpful' in this instance. Says him!! ]

That would help us instead of someone sick moving around. After you recover, you can be as helpful assisting us as you would like. With far more energy and in better health at that, I do not doubt you will be in a splendid position to lend a hand without anything holding you back.

[linkmakers]

But... I don't have time for that. Everything's coming to an end soon... isn't it?

[beautifulknight]

It is, but even if you don't have time for it, you can't really push yourself if you're in a terrible condition.

[ It sucks but it's also true. ]

[linkmakers]

I can probably get something done.

[Maybe. Possibly.]

[beautifulknight]

Have you already considered that you have managed exactly that?

[ Argenti points out with a little smile. ]

...Because you endeavored to welcome us kindly, to assist us diligently even when it was difficult for each and every single one of us, we are still standing here today. Yes, it was all also due to the support we have given each other - and we have become stronger than anything in the way that we are.

[ Even if they must all keep questioning themselves in various ways so that they know their selves better. They must strive to hold onto those bonds tightly that have made their hearts sing; that have brought them challenge, or lifting them away from suffering, or makes them feel an easy gentle love or comradery. ]

We are now in a position where we can start to prepare for what is to come. Rest now, conserve your strength for later, so that it may bloom in earnest when we need it.

[linkmakers]

[...Oh. That seems to actually get her thinking for once.]

...Do you really think so? You... really think I helped?

[beautifulknight]

I do think so, yes.

At least, this is my honest opinion.

[ He isn't exactly saying it to just say it. ]

[linkmakers]

...Good. I'm glad... For that, at least...