June II Event Log

[nashiramods]

Who: Everyone! (That's right, even you)
What: The Nova Knights investigate Nautis's security concerns and Duet 77, but it seems that more than one Harbinger is in play here...
When: June 23 - June 30
Where: Chalra City

Event Results ⭐︎ 🎶 Recommended Listening: Smiling & Singing a Song - Hello, Happy World!〈lyrics〉 ♪
june ii event log
EPISODE 4: Duels in Duet? Unlocking the Secret Stage!
June 23 - June 30
TIMELINE
6/23-6/30 Aquarium Cleanup & Midnight Diner
6/23 Investigate: Shelley Lustre
6/25 Investigate: Track & Trace
6/27 Investigate: Duet 77
6/30 Showdown: Amplitudina

It's another eventful month for the Nova Knights, but at least all eight of them come home at the end of it. The Aquarium is looking a lot better, but there are still some repairs that will need to be made before they can fill it with fish. The Midnight Diner has hosted most of the Nova Knights this week — perhaps some of them will even become regulars. Master's little hole in the wall is never less than anything welcoming.

On the 23rd, Maya and Mutsumi try and fail to learn more about Prince Shellustria's alter ego, while the Harbingers in turn learn more about the Nova Knights' Magic. After Shellustria realizes his identity has been compromised, he becomes a good deal more careful in concealing his movements.

On the 25th, Dirk and Natalia find the solution to Nautis's security concerns at Random Access Lock & Key — the owner, York, is a hacker for hire with an implanted (and highly experimental) AI named Delta. It seems that one of the Harbingers hired her to look into the security around Lucky Stars in the hopes that she might stumble upon the source of the signal that broke into the Abyss. But once the Nova Knights make contact, it seems to tip off the enemy, and they're soon attacked by techno shrimp from the Abyss, who were apparently conjured with Dream domain magic — that is, by someone other than Prince Shellustria.

Having just learned that not only is magic real, there are also magical alien bad guys trying to dominate their planet, York is more than happy to help the Nova Knights defend Earth. What can a hacker-locksmith and her trusty AI do to help them? That remains to be seen, but York is now a friend of the Nova Knights and can be called on whenever the Nova Knights need her help. She doesn't know anyone's secret identities and she's not prying, either — if anything, she seems kind of tickled to now be in the know about the city's (largely) teenage evil-fighting magic superheroes, and she'll keep their secret as long as they keep hers.

Nautis is none too pleased with the discovery even if it does have a relatively happy ending. If anything, the knowledge that she'd been discovered by a perfectly mundane, non-magical human being and Earth-created artificial intelligence, puts her in a spectacularly foul mood for the rest of the week. Delta and Nautis do not seem to get along. What a shocker.

On the 27th, Maya, Mutsumi, and Natalia conduct their investigation at Duet 77...by renting out a room and doing some karaoke together! On top of having a great time, they discover both the energy harvesting plot and the Secret Stage where the Abyssal monster Amplitudina guards the stolen energy. On the 30th, Hope and Dirk venture to Duet 77 to confront her once and for all, and with great success — not only do they win the fight, they manage to avoid any serious harm to themselves or the establishment, and thus another Harbinger plot is foiled!

Comments

[nashiranpcs]

"Well, it worked on me," Shelley says, fan fluttering. Wow. What a ringing endorsement. Hope is kind of weirding him out with all the staring, and it shows on his face. "There's a discipline to art. If you only let praise and motivation drive you, you'll topple over the first time you hit a wall. And there are so many walls to hit as an artist."

An unconscious irritation seems to take hold, and his fan snaps shut with a haughty look of resentment. "So many stupid walls that people put there for no reason," he mutters to himself. "Designing doormats indeed."

Maybe Shelley hits more walls than most. Who can say

[fibrillate]

They can't let themself be swayed by this brief moment of humanity that Shelley might be showing. No matter how much they realize that, hey, maybe he's dealt with some of the same crap that they're dealing with right now. Because of course he is—he's the one who put them in the crap in the first place!—and because this isn't really the best way to approach it, maybe.

"But you do praise them, right?" they ask instead, and their tone is... more genuine than they thought it would be in this talk. They'd expected this to be a fight. They'd wanted it to be a fight. "You're not just setting yourself up as some... moustache-twirling villain for them to deal with when they grow up?" Funny joke. Everybody laugh.

[nashiranpcs]

Shelley is aghast at the mere notion of him having a moustache. Good lord, Hope, don't be vulgar.

"Of course I do! When they've earned it." He frowns at Hope, like this is a really simple concept that they are simply not grasping. Ah! Demonstration, then. He makes a sweeping gesture with his fan toward a painting displayed prominently on the wall. It is far too tasteful to have been wrought by his hands. "For instance, look at this painting! What beauty! What grace! It was an anonymous submission to my art contest, and the artist has never come forward..."

He sighs with genuine longing. "I'm absolutely dying to meet the artist behind this painting. The artistic genius...now that is art."

It is Maya's painting. Maya painted this. Oh, the irony.

[fibrillate]

They don't know who made that piece, but it does look good—not that Hope is much of an art critic. "Wow," they say quietly, temporarily forgetting that they're not supposed to be agreeing with Shelley about stuff. Maybe they'll ask around, or maybe...

No, damn it, don't collaborate with the enemy! Definitely don't do it on normal stuff like this! They keep their gaze on the painting for another moment, but they can't stop the gnawing feeling inside them. The preemptive guilt of not wanting to be nice is rolling around their gut like grit in an oyster, and whatever pearl it's making is not something that Hope wants to wear. Without opening their mouth, they clench their teeth and feel their temples flare. Hold on to it. Commit to something, you idiot.

"Sorry," they say, hating themself. "For coming at you so hard. I think I have a lot to learn, I just... have not been getting a lot of sleep lately." The best excuse they can think of isn't really a lie, either. But they hope it doesn't run counter to whatever cover story people were telling about them. Not that they expect Shelley—Shellustria—to care about whatever it was. "And seeing kids cry just sets me off."

[nashiranpcs]

Shelley is obviously as unaccustomed to being apologized to as he is having his pedagogical methodology questioned. In fact, he looks kind of thrown, like this was not among any set of expected responses.

"Uh...it's...fine," Shelley says with unmistakable bewilderment. He clears his throat awkwardly, fan fluttering. "Yes. Well. Perhaps you need a bit more...time off to rest, or...whatever it is you do."

He hasn't paid much attention to Hope until now, which is fortunate or else he might have had the wisdom to connect the perfectly aligned time frames. They have his attention now, though.

[fibrillate]

"Maybe," they admit, wishing that they could just sink into the floor. But it seems like (now that they've gotten this dumb little outburst out) they're being given a very polite shooing to the door. "I'll head out, then? I—'ll let you teach your kids the way that you've decided works for you. Sorry for bothering you."

And they just... leave. And they just leave! Oh, Hope, you're a mess. You have so many things wrong with you. Add it to the pile of feelings to eat later tonight, they suppose.

[nashiranpcs]

Shelley just stares after Hope as they leave. What a thoroughly baffling interaction. Hope Carassia is obviously a deeply disturbed person. Couldn't be him!