Game Update: May II 2377

[nashiramods]

Weather & Recap ⭐︎ By Daylight ⭐︎ By Starlight

🎶 Recommended Listening: Transformers Prime Main Theme - Brian Tyler ♪
may ii 2377
EPISODE 2: Bathhouse Blitz! Save the Black Cat and the Golden Butterfly!
May 17 - May 24

Weather: Chalra City is enjoying a balmy and sunny late spring with some light rain here and there. The inland breeze from the nearby beaches brings a cool touch and the promise of summer, and flowering forsythia adds splashes of bright yellow to many parts of the city. The highs for the month average around 72°F/22°C, with lows around 50°F/10°C.
Star Suite: The Library has been unlocked! Every Nova Knight will also recover a memory from their past life. More details in the post below.
Recap: In Episode 1, you successfully investigated and foiled your very first plot by the enemy! After Nautis identified the high-end complicated-patterns fashion craze around the Dan Flashes boutique as originating from the Harbingers, the Nova Knights did some thorough investigating and then, in their first serious battle since the night at Lucky Stars, defeated Dan Flashes himself. You can find the previous month's event log here.

You can see what the Harbingers themselves are up to in the aftermath of the event in the Episode 1 Harbingers Gaiden! Mostly a lot of bickering, but they're now aware of the threat posed by the Nova Knights, and they're already making plans to eliminate them.

BY DAYLIGHT
⭐︎ Now that Dan Flashes is out of business, a new business has taken over the space — so quickly, in fact, that it doesn't seem like it was ever vacant at all. There's now a frozen yogurt joint in its place called FroYo Better Believe It!. The only thing Nautis finds suspicious about it is the fact that people like frozen yogurt at all.

⭐︎ Shelley Lustre, art teacher at Everwave Academy, has announced that he'll be holding an art contest for the students. The theme: hidden beauty. Given his already very polarizing personality and deep fondness for seashell-studded sculpture, this promises to be a very...divisive competition.

⭐︎ Public bathhouses are a staple in Chalra City, and they're no exception to the march toward modernization. Newer public baths are bigger and boast much more amenities than their more traditional counterparts, which is precisely why the historic Golden Butterfly Bathhouse is at risk of going out of business! Run by Granny Chocho, whose family has been operating this bathhouse for the last two hundred years, the Golden Butterfly is located right around where the red-light district and the most historic part of the city intersect. But what the Golden Butterfly lacks in fancy amenities, it makes up for with its historic charm, attentive service, and hard-scrubbed cleanliness — which is exactly what its faithful regulars have been trying to spread the word about.

If you pass through that part of town this week, you might meet some customers and even Granny Chocho herself handing out flyers to try and recruit new customers — and if you bring the flyer with you, you get 50% off your entry fee. Not a bad deal, especially if you like quiet and simple! It might be worth checking out, though you'd have to enter as a civilian.

At the end of the week, though, the flyers are a little different — now they're offering a discount on the new scented bath salts the Golden Butterfly is selling! You're not familiar with the brand — a pearl in a stylized oyster shell, bearing the text Seaside Lustre — but they're being advertised as being great for both relaxation and rejuvenation. Apparently, you can have it all!

BY STARLIGHT
⭐︎ Recovered Memory: In the couple of days following the Dan Flashes fight, everyone will recover a memory from their past life — specifically, their final moments in the fight against the Abyss. More than just the dying wish, this is a full memory of whatever last conversation, fight, or whatever they had before dying in the final battle aboard the Nashira. You're not required to, but you're welcome to detail the contents of your character's memory in the thread for recovered memories below. You can also keep track of your character's past life memories with our handy-dandy info page template!

⭐︎ Hideout Status: As a result of everyone's tidying efforts earlier in the month, it's actually pretty nice in here now! There's a big sectional couch for lounging around, at the very least. It's even starting to feel kind of homey.

Another fruit of your labor is that a new part of the crashed ship has become available: you can now access the Library, a modest-sized room with floor-to-ceiling shelves, every last one of them packed with books. Magic books! Much like a modern tablet but with actual pages, these individual books can hold a wealth of magically-stored information and recall what you wish to learn on its pages. Naturally, none of these books are in the local language, but in standard Hassalean. That's not a problem for you guys, though — perhaps due to your recently recovered memories, you all discover that you also have the ability to speak and read Hassalean, as though you simply downloaded the knowledge into your brain. Neat!

If you'd like to have your character peruse the library, you can reply to the thread below to have the mod roll for what they find.

There's also a small hydroponic garden along one corner, though nothing is currently planted in it.

⭐︎ The Rewards page has been updated with the next Star Suite upgrade: the next room to unlock is the Aquarium, and the reward will be a Silver-level Star Suite power. Save up those SP!

⭐︎ Intel: Thanks to the missions earlier in May, you all know quite a lot more than you started! To recap: you now know that one of the Harbingers is named Prince Shellustria, and his magic is of the Glamour domain.

You also learned that the data Nautis needs to locate the Star Map fragments was stored in the soul of the ship's mascot, a black cat named Niangniang with whom Nautis does not seem to have been on good terms. Nevertheless, she's definitely been reincarnated on Earth too, so you'll need to find this cat so Nautis can retrieve the necessary data. Apparently recovering data from someone's soul is a perfectly safe, painless process, but the way she emphasizes these points makes you feel like maybe she hopes something bad happens to this cat. Anyway, she's working on a means of tracking down this elusive mascot, so she'll get back to you with more info later!

⭐︎ The Fate of Nova Zenith: Late at night on May 17, everyone receives an uncharacteristically subdued update from Nautis. Apparently Nova Zenith read through some books in the library about what was known to the Hassaleans about the Abyss and decided to investigate on his own — and ran afoul of Prince Shellustria himself. Unfortunately, Nova Zenith was outmatched on his own, and before Nautis could summon any backup, he was overpowered by Shellustria and claimed by the Abyss. He isn't dead, but captive, and he can be saved if they defeat the Abyss — but all the same, the loss of the oldest member of their group will doubtless rock the rest of the Nova Knights.

Comments

[fibrillate]

"I don't know what I think." It's quick, honest, and exhausted. "We should have been better at keeping track of Zenith. I should've been better at it." Among other things they should have done. "And now—what, we have no record of it? Anywhere? We can't do anything anymore?"

They glare in the direction of Nautis. "I have to do something."

[theriflespiral]

"So-- you propose we make a police of the Nova Knights?" Her expression remains completely blank, her tone even.

But then there's Pandora's response of having to do something and she takes in a breath. She's calm about this. Zenith did so much wrong. There was so much danger in his actions. "We have records. We know where he was when he was taken. That does not mean we know where Shellustria went, or is going. You're right, in that, if we had been told where and what he was investigating, we might have saved him.

"But we weren't."

Her eyes grow distant and unfocused. "Wasn't the first time for me. Won't be the last."

[fibrillate]

"It's not his fault!" they fire back, raising their voice and whipping their head around. "It isn't his fault that he died, okay? He didn't do anything wrong. He was just trying to do the right thing and it ended like this because I—"

They don't remember when they stood up or when tears started to roll down their cheeks. It feels awful. Their heart hurts. They haven't cried in public since they got the news. They are such an embarrassment.

[theriflespiral]

"Because you what? Can't stay awake all hours of the day? Can't be in two places at once?" She reaches a hand to put on her shoulder and then, when they touch--

~ ~ ~

Then, she is standing, at the launch dock, before the advancing swarm. They crash against the Furies as she takes one step forward. Two. There are so many with her. There are so few Nova Knights left.

in her hands, the last, most precious relic of all. Of course it would fall to her to use it. Of course it would fall to her, like all the other responsibilities.

As she steps off the dock, and the others follow her into the starry void, the swarm becomes a miasma that seeps in to her consecrated ground.

The chant begins. Her effort is courageous and mighty. Her breath is strong. Her heart pulses with fury and sorrow, just as it does now.

It is not enough. Most of them barely choke out the last words of their part, the chorus slowly becoming quieter, and quieter. She can do nothing. She can do nothing. It's all she could do to keep them alive this long, long enough for this last, desperate plan.

She raises the last relic, glowing with the light of so many stars. So so many stars. She makes the chant, even as her feet begin to sink into the Abyss.

She speaks a wish, a wish born of her long-held isolation.

~ ~ ~

"NO!"

[fibrillate]

Pandora doesn't know what it looks like when someone gets a memory back. All they know is that Neos, at one moment, looked like she was about to escalate things into a fight or maybe an actual argument, and the next she was standing there as though in a horrible dream, and only when it finished did she come back to reality and scream. It makes Pandora jump back, sliding their back foot behind them as they get out from underneath Neos' touch.

But even when angry at themself, they can't just let it sit. "Are you okay?" they ask urgently, and there they are closing the distance again. Their hand hovers above Neos' shoulder, and they don't know whether it's okay to touch her or... anything, right now. "What happened?"

[theriflespiral]

"No!" Desperate, full of fear and anger and suddenly feeling everything, she holds tightly to Pandora. "Don't. Don't you dare go face the Abyss alone. No!"

[fibrillate]

They freeze in place, not knowing how else to react, and their eyes are wide. Neos doesn't show this level of emotion. Like, ever, in all the time they've known her. This must be serious.

"Hey, hey, hey, no, hey. It's okay. I—I wasn't going to go alone," they lie. "Talk to me. Use your words." They don't like that they're talking similarly to how Zenith did right now. It's subconscious; it would have to be. "It's safe here."

[theriflespiral]

"I won't. I won't lose another friend!" She grips at Hope's clothes. "Do you understand!? Facing the Abyss took-- took so many-- so many-- I-- I thought. I thought I saw their faces but I can't remember them-- I sank--"

[fibrillate]

Oh. It was... did everybody get a horrible memory? It wasn't just Hope getting another debilitating bout of sleep paralysis? That's... awful. They don't know what else to say to it.

They don't step backwards, they don't leave Natalia's space. They just stay. (It's not what they're used to doing. But they need to do that for Natalia right now.)

"It's not fair. It's not fair that Zenith gets taken and then we all remember exactly what happens when the Abyss starts taking over." Their voice lacks all the determination they'd been speaking with earlier. It's shaking. "I don't want to lose anyone else either. Not again."

[theriflespiral]

She wants to say what she remembers, but it fades, slipping through her fingers as soon as she reaches for it. All that's left is a cracked pearl and bile so fierce she feels like her entire torso is ready to burn alive-- a light so fierce it blinds. "Then we need to be smart about this! I know you hurt, but you are my friend and if it's our fate to die then let us take as many of those bastards with us as we can."

[fibrillate]

"We aren't fated to die!" they return, sounding offended, sounding terrified, like they've been barely keeping it together for months even though it's only been a couple of days since their world got shattered. They're trembling; when did they start trembling? "We aren't going to die. That's not what's going to happen to all of us. Zenith is—Zenith is gone because I wasn't strong enough, but I'm not going to let it happen to anyone else!"

[theriflespiral]

The horrifying thought of herself and Pandora and everyone else sinking into the Abyss, alone, spurs her to say, "It's not a matter of strength! We can't-- it took everything we had, and we still-- we still--"

[fibrillate]

"I know! I know, okay?" They want so desperately to shrink away and disappear and never do anything again. Maybe if they fall into the Abyss themself then it'll solve everything. Nobody would have to deal with these stupid unstable outbursts anymore, at least.

"It's too strong but we're supposed to be stronger! We're supposed to be the ones who save this world, and what the hell is the point of that if we can't even save each other?"

[theriflespiral]

"-- So. Both of us out to fist-fight with the reaper?" Her mood doesn't... Swing, so much as it gains a sudden, vicious edge. "To swallow the ocean? To wrest the glories from the Sun?"

She looks Hope dead in their eyes. The grin she has is... Disconcerting. "Looks like we are back to Danno's way. Come, the briefing room is a better space than Nautis's lounge."

And yet, if anything, she's clearly struggling to maintain being Neos.

[fibrillate]

Neos is frightening like this. But right now, it's hard for Pandora to find enough of a reason to care. They know they shouldn't encourage this, but they just want something to happen, they want to be strong enough to have saved Zenith, they want Zenith back and it's their fault and they are shattered about it.

Beating things up won't fix it. But maybe, they think, it can get some of the feelings out of them and they won't feel like this anymore. "Fine. Are you finally going to get your sword fight or are we doing this with our fists?" Is that even what Neos is asking for? They're not sure; they are weaving a narrative in their head and they're very aware of it. (It would probably be great if they could stop doing that.)

[theriflespiral]

"Ho ho!" the laugh, like her grin, is mirthless. "No, friend. You admitted you are the beginner! I would bury you, that is no fun. Needs shovel, takes hours, unpleasant."

Neos, instead, begins to stretch. "No, we will be building your strength, agility, and skill, and maintaining mine as much as possible."

[fibrillate]

"Training? Now?" they ask, stopping on their heel and looking at Neos like she actually as crazy as her expression might indicate. "No, I'm not—I just want to—" It's so much harder to talk like this; they feel like their tongue is completely tied and their words are just evaporating from their mind. They stand there silently, trying to urge something to come out of their throat, and all at once they spill out, "I want to hit something!"

[theriflespiral]

"... Fine. I will take your blows." She breathes in. "This body is a temple, well-maintained and stable."

And with that, she accepted her body into her Domain.

And stances up. "Now. Come at me, any way you like."

[fibrillate]

It's not what Pandora would usually do. It's sure as hell not what Hope would do. But there's so much self-hate boiling inside of them right now that it feels tempting. Why not add more to the pile? (And are you actually even going to hurt her? You're pathetic. You couldn't swing your way out of a wet paper bag. Do it, coward. Fail at something else.)

They curl their fist up, grit their teeth, and take a swing at Neos' gut. There's very little power behind it, of course, and they don't have any sort of form or follow-through, and it doesn't make them feel better at all. And they swear loudly, and it sounds like they're on the verge of tears when the word comes out. Dramatic. Idiotic. Useless.

[theriflespiral]

"Hm." She deflects the blow with one hand, pushing it aside with casual ease. It's not easy to beat Natalia in a martial-arts-off, and even more so, Neos. "I know you can feel it. Stand wide enough to swing your hips and get your core muscles involved. I know you can hit harder. I want you to hit harder."

[fibrillate]

They can't. They don't think they can. But they listen, because their brain is loud and complicated and Natalia's voice is easy, and they take more of a stance this time before swinging again. They still don't actually know how to engage their core or anything like that, which means there isn't a lot of change to the way they throw the punch. They don't swear this time, at least, but tears are welling up in the corners of their eyes.

[theriflespiral]

"Better," she nods, catching the blow outside with the same hand. "Push forward from the heel on your back foot and drive everything into that rear hand. Commit! Make me feel it!"

Yes. This! She can see it, even if Pandora can't. "Watch closely and duck."

There's a twitch in her eye and hand, and Pandora can see her slowing up but committing her hip and torso, putting every muscle from the heel to her hand into the wide, telegraphed swing.

[fibrillate]

It's easy to dodge, and—once they notice it's coming, once they realize that Neos is letting them dodge it (maybe she's taking pity on them, that's the only reason anyone would, obviously), they duck down into a squat on the floor. When the punch is gone, so is Nova Pandora—they break Supernova, something that they probably shouldn't be doing in the hideout with other people in the next room, but it just feels so impossible to keep all of this up. Everything feels so heavy. The fire that had just driven them quenched in record time by their own stupid brain. Again.

They stay down in that squat, and their heart aches for how they can't even maintain the one thing that's supposed to make them feel better. "Fuck," they say, quieter and more clearly. Their throat is tight. "Stop it, Neos. It's pointless."

[theriflespiral]

"Well--" she pauses. Sees the squat and the break. Listens.

Her eyes are wide. For a moment, her anger rules her, the Danno that lives in her head rules her, she winds up,

But then-- then, she remembers. She remembers herself, when-- when...

Her fists release, she drops stance, and, through gritted teeth, she says, "Mikhail."

[fibrillate]

If Natalia had actually followed through, Hope would've understood. God knows they want to do it to themself enough times over and over again whenever they get like this. But nothing comes, and they sit more comfortably on the ground with their legs folded underneath them, and they keep their head lowered.

"Not what I'm called," they try. They don't feel very funny in the moment, but with tears already rolling down their face and anything more complex buried underneath everything else, they have to take what they can get.