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thenashira2025-09-01 12:45 pm
nashiramods) wrote in thenashira2025-09-01 12:45 pm
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Game Update: July I 2377
🎶 Recommended Listening: Sleep on the Beach - Sub-Radio ♪
july i 2377
EPISODE 5: Makeover or Make Up? The Rumor Riptide Never Ceases!
July 1 - July 8
Star Suite: No new unlocks! The next unlockable room is the Lab, which will grant everyone another recovered memory, as well as add a neat new upgrade to their dowsing machines.
Constellations: The Nova Knights are in possession of one of seven Constellations (the Dancer).
Weather: Summer is in full swing in Chalra City! July is just as humid as June, but even hotter, and the breeze blowing in from the sea is more beckoning than refreshing. A handful of summer thunderstorms sweep through the city, but most days are hot, hot, hot and sunny. Street vendors selling shaved ice and handmade wind chimes are on every corner, and gleeful water gun fights are a common scene in the city's parks. The highs for the month average around 93°F/34°C, with lows around 75°F/24°C.
Recap: Last month, the Nova Knights foiled yet another energy harvesting ploy in the form of a boppin' new karaoke sound system, which means Duet 77 is now free of Abyssal influence! You can now enjoy your fancy-yet-affordable karaoke worry-free. They also tracked down who was responsible for prying into Nautis's security: a local locksmith with a checkered past named York. It seems she was hired by one of the Harbingers without knowing what it was she was really investigating, and now that she has the full picture, she's decided to lend a hand to the Nova Knights where she can. Every group of magical warriors needs a civilian pal who helps them out of a jam every once in a while!
BY DAYLIGHT
⭐︎ It's beach season, baby, and there's no better way to beat the heat than getting in the water! Chalra City runs a shuttle bus to the beach every other hour, making day trips to the beach an absolute breeze. But if you want to cool off in the water without leaving the city, there's always the pool! Everwave Academy does, of course, have its own very swanky private pool available to students and staff only, but you'll have to compete for space with the swim dance team currently practicing for regionals, and boy, are they passionate. If you're not a student or you just don't want to deal with other Everwave students, there are public pools around the city as well, the largest and most popular of which is located on the edge of the shopping district.
⭐︎ The beauty salon and spa at the train station has recently been renovated! Sea & Spray is more than just a place for haircuts and makeup: they offer a suite of personal grooming and massage services, including manicures and pedicures, hot stone massages, and a brand-new steam room. Whether you're here for a makeover or just need to take a load off and relax, Sea & Spray has something for almost everyone!
The salon has been a mainstay in the Chalra City train station for decades, and its age was certainly starting to show in the choice of upholstery and tile colors...but now it's looking delightfully modern! The massage chairs for the foot baths are top of the line, every fixture has that brand-new shine, and the old dated color palette has been replaced with light, airy blues and greens. There have already been a couple of reported celebrity sightings, and the rumor mill is a-turnin'. If you want to know the latest city gossip, much of the clientele here is ready to dish on a moment's notice.
⭐︎ Speaking of gossip, wild rumors are at an all-time high in Chalra City, and they're not limited to celebrities. Maybe it's the heat, but all over the city, minor disagreements are escalating into shouting matches, benign misunderstandings are leading to hostilities and the silent treatment, and people seem to be talking about their friends behind their backs an awful lot all of a sudden.
It's happening all over the city, but if you're in the right circles you might hear about the blowup at Verdigris House, despite its otherwise professional and harmonious reputation. It seems that Pairin, one of the Three Princesses and top courtesans of Verdigris House, got into a public dispute with the madam over her contract that quickly became a hostile argument. All kinds of gossip is circulating through the pleasure district and beyond, with open speculation as to whether or not Pairin might cut ties with pleasure house that helped her ascend to her courtesan stardom.
Note: Nova Knights are not immune to the above strange happenings in the city. It is entirely opt-in, but if this would be a fun catalyst for CR/development, you can let this Something Strange overtake your character to make a Problem.
BY STARLIGHT
⭐︎ Hope's Prophecy: Thanks to their past as a diviner for the Oracle, Hope may occasionally receive prophetic dreams that give the Knights a hint about what's to come. Hope did not have a prophetic dream this time around but there's always next time!
⭐︎ Hideout Status: The Aquarium is still in need of repairs before they can start filling those tanks! A replacement for the damaged massive pane of glass seems like it'd be impossible to get into the base, but you never know what Nautis will come up with next.
Maomao has been working on growing ancient Hassalean plants in the hydroponic garden, and to her delirious delight, it's been a success so far! But after a certain point, the sprouts just kind of...stop growing. It seems that when it comes to Hassalean gardening, something is missing...
⭐︎ Nautis Updates: While Nautis isn't thrilled to learn that the Harbingers are hiring human agents, at least they've taken care of the problem for now. It's likely that the Harbingers won't give up, though.
> It's not at all surprising that the mystery hacker turned out to be sent by the Harbingers. I knew no mundane human hacker could find me!
> Even a human implanted with a frighteningly primitive AI. Honestly, they probably only tripped over my security protocols by accident.
> And the Harbingers were the ones who directed them to the arcade! They basically didn't do any real work at all.
> Which means they're totally harmless when it comes to civilians knowing that the Nova Knights exist! ٩(^ᗜ^ )و ´-
> Harmless dead weight, that is.
> So I totally won't judge if you still want to hang out with them ^_^
> I'm sure that making a new friend must be very exciting for some of you!
> I would never take that away from you.
> I do wonder who exactly was behind this... It's not exactly Prince Shellustria's style :/
> It sure is troubling that they got so close, though! (•᷄- •᷅ ;)
> It just goes to show how little we really know about our enemy. Spooky!
⭐︎ Intel: The Nova Knights learned some pretty important information last time! The fact that York and Delta were hired by one of the Harbingers, and furthermore, that this may have been the work of someone other than Shellustria, since the monsters sent to clean up York were summoned by Dream domain magic. This Harbinger is clearly trying to trace back the signal Nautis sent into the Abyss, and with York's help, they actually came pretty close.
no subject
Mortis looks up suddenly, her eyes wide behind the mask. Pandora makes it sound like an accusation. Is it an accusation? Does Pandora suspect them for some invisible crime? Mortis doesn't know anything about what happened in the Abyss, but she knows she wasn't there. She's beginning to feel like a trapped animal, even though Pandora hasn't come any closer.
"It wasn't me."
no subject
"I know," they say simply. There's no accusation, not yet. There wouldn't be, right? "Or... I didn't know, until right now. Because the you that I saw in there was just a doll saying the same thing over and over, when she was saying anything at all."
They decide not to get into specifics, and if that could be for Mortis' benefit then so be it. "You can see how I might have been confused," they say. "With the thousands of words that you and I share on a regular basis."
no subject
This is an accusation. Pandora is unhappy with her, not just the shadow version of her they'd encountered in the Abyss. Pandora's upset that she's been avoiding them for weeks, even before they'd been sent to the Abyss. That she failed to protect Glimmer, too, probably. Her hands grip her guitar, white at the knuckles. Her head feels like it's filled with static. Her gaze pulls away from Pandora, looking at anything but.
"Whenever I talk...it makes things worse."
no subject
And Zenith, of course.
They sigh heavily and walk to the nearest wall to lean against it instead, still standing behind Mortis. Their shoulders hurt; their body aches. "So you're just going to shut up instead?" they ask, frowning. "Afraid to do something wrong so you don't do anything at all?" They don't know what else to say, but for whatever it matters, they wish the words bloodying their throat tasted better, too. "Real heroic."
little beepos misery is increasing
I don't think I'd be able to make a choice, they had told her, almost two months ago now. I'd probably just sit there paralyzed instead.
She pulls her guitar into her arms, the only bastion of safety in this room. She could leave — she probably should — but she's tired and she's battered and something about Pandora's implicit accusation causes something small inside of her to begin to boil over. Her voice is barely audible, but the words come out clearly all the same.
"Isn't that what you do?"
no subject
They don't even hesitate to answer. They know the words they're saying. It's an accusation against Mortis, but it's a condemnation of their own behavior, too. They are angry at both of them right now. It's a real shame that Mortis has to be here in the line of fire, though.
"Yeah, it is what I do. And it sucks that I do it, and it sucks that you're doing it too." There's invective here, sure, but they just feel pathetic about all of it. "I don't want my bullshit to spread to anyone else on this team, because if all of us act like I do then we might as well just tie Nautis up with a little bow and hand the hideout over to the Abyss right now."
no subject
She resents Pandora for what they're doing right now.
"...You don't know."
Anything about her. anything about how she's feeling. About what she's doing. She gets to her feet from the couch, slowly, stiffly, like she's remembering how to move. She doesn't turn around, just holds her guitar in her arms with her head bowed.
"I'm doing my best."
Don't you know I'm the only one on your side, Mutsumi?
no subject
"So am I!" they insist, feeling their voice get scratchy from strain. "And I still got eaten up by the Abyss, and I still broke that huge pane of glass, and I still let one of my fish die, and I still don't feel like I've done any good for this stupid team since Nautis woke me up!"
They're unloading. It's not fair. It's not fair to Mortis but they feel like everything has just built up too much. It's the wrong place and the wrong time for Mortis. That's all it is. Right? That's all. They hit the wall with the flat of their fist. "My best isn't getting me fucking anywhere, Mortis, so I need your best to be better than mine."
no subject
She feels sick. Normally, she just accepts whatever is handed to her, whether the burden is hers or someone else's. But she rejects it here, surprising even herself. A rush of static fills her head and her vision blurs and she runs for the stairs to the secret entrance above, leaving only the sound of her footsteps.