Game Update: June I 2377

[nashiramods]

Weather & Recap ⭐︎ By Daylight ⭐︎ By Starlight
🎶 Recommended Listening: Like Chimeras - Joel Baylis ft. Shelby Harvey ♪
june i 2377
EPISODE 3: Shall We Dance? A Starlit Step in 3/4 Time!
June 1 - June 7

Weather: It's hot and humid out in Chalra City this month! June brings the songs of cicadas by day and the flickering lights of fireflies at night, to the delight of many a bug catcher. Some days are partially cloudy with a refreshing breeze, but there are plenty of hot and sunny days where your best bet is staying indoors. People are breaking out their seasonal fans, sun hats, and big sunglasses to fend off the sun. Don't forget your sunscreen! The highs for the month average around 86°F/30°C, with lows around 70°F/21°C.

Recap: The historic Golden Butterfly bathhouse was at risk of going out of business when some mysterious and trendy new bath salts appeared. This seemed to help business, but it quickly became apparent that this was yet another energy harvesting plot by the enemy. Meanwhile, the Nova Knights were finally able to track down Niangniang, and after rescuing her, discovered that she is in fact Maomao, a classmate of some of the Nova Knights. Who knew the cat was reincarnated as a human too! Maya and Hope, however, were captured by Shellustria and trapped in the Abyss.

BY DAYLIGHT
⭐︎ The Golden Butterfly Bathhouse is no longer on the verge of closing! While business isn't exactly booming, there are quite a few new return customers. The supply of mysterious bath salts seems to vanish as readily as it appeared, and Maomao has arranged a new supplier for Granny Chocho. Yes, that supplier is her (father's) pharmacy, and yes, it has actually improved business!

⭐︎ Beach season has officially begun! Weekend traffic has skyrocketed now that everyone's headed to the beach on their days off. Chalra City's many shops are now selling swimsuits, towels, umbrellas, and any other beach accessory you can think of! The city is in full summer swing, too, with street vendors now selling bottled water, cold packs, and shaved ice for anyone who needs relief from the heat. Make sure you stay hydrated!

⭐︎ Another week, another craze in Chalra City — despite the heat, spontaneous dance parties known as flash mobs have been popping up in the shopping district. Usually a gathering of ten to twenty people, with at least one of them invariably carrying a boom box blasting tunes, they gather on a street corner or pedestrian walkway and break out into energetic dance in a variety of styles. It only lasts for the length of a single song, and then they then immediately disperse. Confusing, but exciting!

⭐︎ Nova Pandora and Nova Glimmer are trapped in the Abyss, which means their civilian identities are also missing! Maomao is able to cover for Maya by lying to the madam, while Natalia tells the school that Hope is suffering from one of the many recent cases in Chalra City of what can only be called "the vapors". But who knows how long those excuses will hold, or when they'll be able to get Pandora and Glimmer back?

BY STARLIGHT
⭐︎ Hideout Status: Now that Maomao has awakened as the reincarnation of Niangniang, she can be found hanging out in the hideout a few afternoons/evenings a week. While she seems exceedingly reluctant to participate in this special destiny, her tune quickly changes when she discovers the ancient seed collection in the Library. It contains seed samples of thousands of plants from an eons-dead world, and using the hydroponic garden, it might actually be possible to regrow some Hassalean plants on Earth. Who knows what unique properties they have? At any rate, this is Maomao's new special project and the main thing getting her to come to the hideout.

This doesn't come as a surprise to Nautis, as apparently Niangniang's actual role on the Nashira was the assistant to the ship's doctor, and she had an affinity for botanical experiments even as a cat. Nautis doesn't seem to be especially thrilled to have Maomao around, even if she is glad to have her missing data back. She seems to resent Maomao for it even though she was the one to use Maomao's soul as overflow storage in the first place...?

⭐︎ Intel: Nautis finally has the data she needs to start tracking the missing Star Map fragments, which will allow her to upgrade everyone's dowsing machines to track Star Map activity. Nautis explains that each fragment of the Star Map actually represents a Constellation from the Hassalean Zodiac. There are seven loose Constellations in total, and the Nova Knights will have to locate all of them to complete the Star Map and seal away the Abyss.

⭐︎ Another Awakening: On June 3, Nautis alerts the group chat to the awakening of a new Nova Knight! It seems that the awakening pulse she sent out didn't activate everyone right away, probably due to the fact that she's not operating at full power. Who knows how many other Nova Knights might be out there, yet to awaken?

Once Nova Pastos has been awakened, Nautis adds him to the (mandatory) group chat and invites him to the hideout, encouraging the rest of the gang to drop by and meet him sometime. You'll be fighting together, after all!

⭐︎ Trapped in the Abyss: On May 30, Nova Pandora and Nova Glimmer ran afoul of Shellustria and have been trapped in the Abyss. Nautis has alerted all the Nova Knights, but they'll remain in the Abyss for the entire week.

After a short and brutal battle, Pandora and Glimmer find themselves transported to an empty, howling wasteland steeped in eternal night. The moon hangs eerily low in the sky, and seems to loom ever closer as the week wears on, the only sign of the passage of time. It looks like no place they would recognize on Earth, but there is a vague, uneasy sense of familiarity to it all the same.

As Pandora and Glimmer wander through the Abyss, they'll find that they can't come out of supernova — whatever magic that allows them to transform back to regular human form seems to be jammed here. They don't seem to need to eat during their time in the Abyss, but sleep is hard to come by; in fact, the endless night makes it increasingly difficult to tell how much time has even passed since they arrived here.

The Abyss seems utterly devoid of life, and yet, they may encounter twisted reflections of people they know, including other Nova Knights. It's also possible for Pandora and Glimmer to become separated while in the Abyss...sounds like a bad time!

(In other words: other characters can thread with Maya and Hope while they're in the Abyss, but only as apparitions in the Abyss. Their real selves are still very much out in the world and not in contact with the Abyss.)

Comments

[fibrillate]

a. i'm the problem, i'm the worst case [abyss]

"Glimmer."

That's how it starts, a plea for the person that Nova Pandora actually wants to respond—the person they'd gotten captured in here with. Their head aches, and the past few minutes... or however long they've been out are just a confusing mess of muddled darkness. Much like, they realize, what they're looking out at now.

And that's when their eyes go wide and they gasp. "Maya!" they shout, more urgently, as the sight of the Abyss sinks into their head. "Zenith!" they try, hoping against hope (you have any of that left?) that at least one damn thing can go right here. Because if they can at least prove that Zenith isn't dead, then maybe they can feel better about what brought them here.

It's so hard to see, but they think they can make out some geography even though the world itself seems... totally dead. Silent but for the wind and their own voice. They press their back against what has to be some big rock wall, close their eyes, and swear. (You're going to die alone here.) And, quieter and weary, "Shut uuuup."

The smart thing to do is to wait around until Glimmer shows up, right? It's like getting lost in the woods, if the woods wanted to slowly kill you. Which, they suppose, sometimes it does. They would truly love not to find out if the Abyss has any wolves. (You only have to be faster than Glimmer.) They're in Supernova still, which is... probably a good thing? At least they can bring their sword out if they absolutely need to. (So you can throw it at them and run away, hero?)

They hit the back of their head against the rock to try to force those thoughts out. It just hurts.

b. am i just a burden? [wildcard]

((okay, admittedly wildcards are gonna be a little harder to come by this time around. but i wanted to leave the door open, so if you've got any ideas hit me up in the discord!!))

nova mortis is here to be Spooky

[avemortis]

When Pandora looks forward again after knocking their head back against that rock, Nova Mortis is suddenly standing just a few feet away, masked and silent. She stares unblinkingly at Pandora and hardly moves save for breathing. It's hard to say where she came from, but surely Pandora would have heard her approach...?

[fibrillate]

But they hadn't heard Mortis approach. Which is bizarre enough on its own. And, like... great, of course it's Mortis, somehow. Of course Mortis got sucked into the Abyss too. They don't even know how to react since the last time they spoke went so well.

But they're desperate. "Mortis!" They push off the rock and take the few steps forward to get face-to-face with this mask that they've dreaded running into again for days on end. "God, you're—when did you come down here? Are you trying to save us? We have to find Glimmer first."

[avemortis]

Despite Hope trying to close the distance between them, Nova Mortis doesn't seem to be any closer, as though she's being pulled back with a bizarre dolly zoom effect. She doesn't move either, just standing there. She seems to be saying something under the mask, the words just at the edge of hearing but too faint to make out.

[fibrillate]

"I can't..." They trail off and stand still for another moment, watching Mortis just stare back and barely able to make out the subtle movement behind the mask. "Stand still." It's nicer than an order, but not quite as desperate as a plea, and they dart forward again to try to close the gap between them. It probably won't work, and they're already furrowing their brow while they go through with it.

[avemortis]

But she is standing still — so perfectly still that save for the tiny movements of her jaw, she might otherwise appear to be nothing but a doll. She stares back at Pandora, as though waiting for them to catch up, as though they simply haven't even tried. And though Nova Mortis still seems to be out of reach, her barely audible voice begins to resolve into words for Hope.

"...Lost..."

[fibrillate]

Lost. Great. Okay. They're both lost, then. There's nowhere to go in the Abyss, is there? They extend their sword at their side and unlink it into its whip form. "Mortis, I'm so sorry. I promise I don't mean it." Because they don't really know what else there is to do if Mortis is going to keep running away like this, if that's even what's happening. They have to get closer if they want to save... both of them.

They fling their sword out and deliver a very weak "Binding Blade" battle cry to go along with it, hoping that they can keep Mortis in place long enough to catch up with her. At least they can't actually hurt anyone with their powers. Useless as always.

[avemortis]

Nova Mortis just stands there, still quietly murmuring, as Pandora extends their sword. It isn't until the linked segments wrap around her that it seems to be real for her at all, and her eyes suddenly widen and a choked cry escapes her throat. But even so, strained as she is, she keeps repeating:

"...I'm lost..."

[fibrillate]

Pandora only keeps it there long enough to try to close the gap between them again, but when they notice they're apparently hurting Mortis it puts a pause in their frantic steps forward. She's lost, they think. She's lost, and a tirade of all of Pandora's worst impulses play out in their head.

You're the lost one? When every time I've tried to talk to you it's just gotten worse? You've been dodging me for days and who's to say you aren't celebrating now that I'm finally out of the picture? Are you even real or are you acting like everyone else and just letting me rot here while you all wipe your foreheads in relief because you don't have to deal with a fuckup like me on the team anymore?

The problem with not really being stable is that the boundary between their thoughts and their words is much weaker, and it takes them a moment to realize that those thoughts have actually made it out of their mouth to land at Mortis' feet. Their heart sinks again. Good going.

[theriflespiral]

"No." And there she is. In black armor. With amythyst gems, and gold trim.

She approaches the proverbial throne, glaring down with an expression more suited to one finding a particularly unpleasant bit of business on one's sole. "... Well?"

[fibrillate]

"Natalia," they say, unable to help the name that comes out of their mouth. "God dammit, you said you weren't going to do this," and they're so distraught that they look like they might actually laugh. Nothing is funny, despite their face. "Come on. We need to find Glimmer and get out of here together."

They catch the look that Natalia—Neos is wearing, though, and it's very obvious that none of this is funny. "What's... wrong?"

[theriflespiral]

"Go on," Neos says, body language impatient but voice as impassive as ever. Her boots grind like stone on stone on the hard ground of the Abyss. "Get up, Mother of Monsters.

"Behold, your amphora!" Her tone is sarcastic and vicious, and she spreads her arms wide and turns, as if to bask in the Abyss itself.

[fibrillate]

Look on your works, ye mighty, says the voice inside their head, deriding them right along with Natalia. Natalia, who would never say stuff like that so... blatantly. Cruelly.

Pandora's eyes flit around the darkness behind their friend. Their amphora runneth dry, and they could've said that to begin with. But it's the things that aren't direct about what Natalia's saying that twist the knife. "I didn't do this, Nat. You know that. The Abyss isn't... it's not my fault." (Isn't it?)

[theriflespiral]

"Oh, the Abyss itself, no. But did you think for half a second we would not come for you? Each of us, in their turn?" She turns back, and the injuries and horrors are slowly manifesting on her skin, in her armor. "I, but first of many."

She begins to approach. Closer now. "Get. Up."

[fibrillate]

Pandora rises to the not-a-request and pushes themself off the rock, trying very hard to stand as strong and steadily as possible. It's a front, and they already don't think it's working. Whatever they're looking at, it's not Natalia. It's not Neos; it's something else. There are... she looks grotesque now, and it's nearly impossible to hold her gaze. Their voice quivers.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Great, yes, always admit weakness to something threatening you. "You're wearing her face but I don't know who you are."

[theriflespiral]

"You've never known who I am." The words are spat out, vicious and furious. "You have known me, what, a handful of weeks? You think pity drives me! Pity! As if I could ever afford such weakness."

She takes an all-too familiar fighting stance. "Come."

[fibrillate]

Damn it, Not-talia. Pandora is in no state to do this right now, not that they were in much of one the first time around, but. If this is what's going to happen, then so be it. They don't intend to fight with their fists this time, though.

"Fine," they say, not steely, not determined, just tired, and they extend their sword into its whip form. And they shift their weight to their back foot and flick the bladed whip forward from where they're standing so they don't have to get close enough to Not-talia to risk being punched in the face.

[parillegal]

Glimmer feels like she's been calling out for hours, but she has to keep going.

Everything had been going so good. Pandora and Glimmer had gelled so well. In all the stories, heroes who hit it off so well always did well, right?

(You weren't ever going to do well at all.)

No, now that she thinks about it, that's how the stories go, right? It all seems like it's going too good, and then tragedy strikes. but the heroes always get past it. they always get past it, right? (Why do you keep comparing yourself to heroes, anyway? It's not like you measure up.

"This is so. BORING," shouts Maya. If she stays silly, the voices can't get to her, can they? She's dealt with talk like this since she was young as it is. It's fine. It's no reason not to keep going. Somewhere out there, Pandora might still need her.

(Need you? Not if they're gone. Just like your sister. That one might be your fault, too. Pretty fitting, huh?

Losing Hope?)

Maya stops for a moment, this time, staring out into space. She shakes her head, walks five more paces. ten more. Counting, counting, counting, at first in her head but then out loud—

"...Sixty-five, sixty six,"

over and over, until—

"— a hundred."

That's more progress than before, in a straight line, in one direction. Even if she doesn't know the way, at least she's further away from the place she was before.

Glimmer stops, putting her hands to her mouth and belting as loud as she can.

"PAAAAANDOOOOORAAAA! ARE YOU OUT THERE?"

Please be out there.

"I'M RIGHT HERE! COME FIND ME!"

[fibrillate]

It's fake.

That's the only thing that Pandora can think after spending so long here without Glimmer. Without anyone real, tangible, who they can hold in their hands and cling to for some kind of comfort or relief. How many apparitions of their "friends" have they run into so far? Have run into them, more like. Funny. Everybody laugh.

But then they hear Glimmer's voice a second time, and a brief beam of sunshine pierces through the clouds around their head. They haven't been this loud, or so far away. They've always been within Pandora's field of vision and waited for them to acknowledge their existence first. So is this...

"Glimmer?" they call into the darkness, cupping their hand next to their mouth. "Glimmer!" a second time, and they pull themself to their feet and start running in the direction of their friend's voice. If this is another trick, they think they're willing to deal with it. They'll break down after they find out if the Abyss is lying to them again.

They can hear their big stupid boots echoing loudly through the Abyss, which should at least be some kind of indicator that they're coming if Glimmer can hear them—if Glimmer is real. "Stay where you are!" they shout again, hoping desperately that they'll see the silhouette of what feels like the only friend they have left as they roam the Abyss no better than blindly.

[parillegal]

Pandora's voice shocks Glimmer into stunned silence for a moment. All this time, and there's been only these scathing retorts, the commentary of people who know far too much for the situation.

But then it's Pandora, calling her by that name like they did the first time in the hideout. Once, twice, Glimmer on Pandora's voice, and she grips the ribbons and sleeves of her costume tight as she realizes.

Is it them? Is it really Pandora? The following command is so clear, so— not an interjection. Maya realizes she hasn't taken in another breath and it shocks her into action again. A deep breath, and she starts to yell again.

"Pandora!" she calls again. No, that won't do, they have to know it's her— "Hope! I'm here!"

She wants to run to find Pandora too, but Pandora's right. If she doesn't stay where she is, it could take longer to find each other. They could miss each other, walk opposite ways— she just needs to stay heard, to be Pandora's beacon.

So Glimmer sings.

Because it has to be her, if it's this song, right? If it's the theme from the movie they watched together?

"Standing strong on the wounds of yesterday, the dry wind hears Neo Tokyo's fresh cry—" she starts into the Steel Samurai's theme song, and keeps going, ending the verse with a resounding and exuberant— "fly high!"

[fibrillate]

They hear their own name come out of Glimmer's mouth and they feel a smile finally breaking the distress on their face. It's an unfamiliar expression right now, but it's very welcome. And then—faintly to begin with, but so distinct once they catch on to what it is, they hear the Steel Samurai theme song, and they laugh brightly while they're running.

Oh, they're both stupid, aren't they. Pandora can't believe this is about to be how they locate their friend in the middle of all this darkness, but they start breathlessly singing the theme song along with Glimmer, certain that if they just run fast enough then they can make it there before the song is over and they can have some incredible reunion like how it always happens in the movies.

It almost works out like that. They bust out that final "fly high!" as loud as they can and stagger into view, their scarf billowing behind them and making them feel just the tiniest bit heroic (even though Glimmer's the one saving their life). Breathing hard, they walk up to their friend, and they're still smiling and for the moment they feel like they have something to keep going for. And they wrap their arms around her and hug her tightly. "Found you, Maya."

[parillegal]

A laugh!

There is nothing brighter in this abyss than Hope's laughter, all of a sudden. It keeps Maya singing, and then like a lightning bolt Hope is in view. She steps forward, hops— a few awkward, hurried steps, the last few to close the distance.

Hope's arms are around her, and Maya squeezes back with all the life she can.

"You did! You found me," she confirms, congratulates, even, sighing with relief against her friend's shoulder. This is it. This is all she needs to keep going, right? Hope is here, and as long as Maya can find a way to help her, as long as Glimmer can help Pandora... maybe it isn't so hopeless, after all.

"I'm so glad..."

[fibrillate]

It's... it would be so nice to think that this is actually the end of both of their problems. But as far as Hope knows, bravely reuniting with Maya and hugging her in celebration has done nothing to actually beat back the Abyss. They might still be in this for. Who even knows how long, really?

But they can at least pretend that they're normal right now. Like they haven't been through absolute hell. "I'm really glad that it's actually you. I've had..." They sigh, feeling a weight in their chest. "A lot of bad experiences so far. It's like the Abyss is mocking me with the faces of the people I know. But it couldn't pretend to be you," they say like that's a badge of honor or pride or something, and not just a lucky little anomaly.

"Has it been bad for you too?" They almost don't want to know the answer, but decide that it's worth the guilt they might feel to hear the truth.

[parillegal]

The moment Maya pulls enough away to do so (which isn't completely, holding on to Hope's arms as though she's afraid they might disappear) she starts to look over her friend— and when Hope mentions it couldn't pretend to be you, Maya's grip on their arms tightens just a little.

Hope believes in her, and that gives Maya the strength to lie to the both of them.

"Nah. You know me," she says, the gears in her head turning to pull out the most Hero thing she can say right now, and she comes up with—

"Not even the abyss can dull Nova Glimmer's shine."

That had helped, actually; divorcing herself, Maya the fuckup, Maya who'd never earned anything since she'd been born, from Nova Glimmer the hero. Maya makes mistakes. Maya lets people down.

But Nova Glimmer is a hero, and a hero never gives up. A hero fights their fears. The hero always supports their friends, even when they're scared. And a good enough hero can turn a loss into a victory by the end of the series, right?

"Besides, I knew as long as you were here, you wouldn't give up. So, I wasn't about to, either."

[fibrillate]

Hope believes in Maya because they don't have a choice. They sure as hell don't believe in themself right now. But Maya... Maya actually has faith in them. And they can feel, crawling up their spine, the moment that they'd known would come one day sooner or later. The day that they screw it all up and prove that they're just some worthless rich kid too scared to stand up for anything.

It can wait until they get out of here. They aren't allowed to break down. Not right now. Not in front of the only person they've successfully tricked into being their friend. "Good," they say, not forcing the relief as much as they'd expected. But it all still feels very tiring. It feels like they've had their entire life torn open before them and they can't scramble fast enough to put it all back inside. Their hands might as well already be covered in blood.

"They want to break us down, but they'll never be able to do it. No matter how many faces they steal or fears they put up to the microphone." They know they're coming off subdued. They don't care much. "Now comes the hard part. We have to figure out a way out of here so we can get back to everyone else."

Who else do they have to go back to, they think? Why shouldn't they just rot here in the Abyss? Well—well, god dammit, they do have one thing, and this sort of situation is exactly why they got that thing in the first place. They breathe in and look forward, above Maya's head. "I have no idea where to start running next."