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thenashira2025-11-03 12:09 am
nashiramods) wrote in thenashira2025-11-03 12:09 am
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Game Update: August I 2377
🎶 Recommended Listening: Midsummer Dance Hall - GO!GO!7188 〈lyrics〉 ♪
august i 2377
EPISODE 7: Let's Go to the Beach! Swim into a Summer Wonderland!
August 1 - August 7
Constellations: Two out of seven Constellations have been captured.
⭐︎ The Nova Knights possess the Dancer
⭐︎ The Harbingers possess the Three Sisters
Weather: Chalra City's hot hot summer continues! While August isn't quite as hot as it was last month, it's a good deal more humid and stickier. Whether it's a swimming pool or a beach, Chalra City residents are flocking to the water to cool off and relax. Sunbathing in the park is a popular activity on cooler days, and local shops and restaurants court young shoppers by offering special services and sales suited to the student wallet. The highs for the month average around 90°F/32C° with lows around 78°F/25C°.
Recap: Last month was kind of a mixed bag, huh! Despite some victories, the results leave them ringing a little hollow. The Wonder Junction Two-Day Video Game Rental turned out to be a two-fold trap by the Harbingers: one part energy-harvesting plot, one part trap to capture the Nova Knights. Even the monster guarding the stolen energy at the Wonder Junction Two-Day Video Game Rental was meant to trap the Nova Knights, and though they defeated Ludoreticula, the stolen energy was never recovered.
This month has left several Nova Knights in dire states; Harley and Kalim fell into eclipse after their disastrous game trial, and Dirk and Reese were captured and sent to the Abyss when they were exploring the Dark Ocean.
BY DAYLIGHT
⭐︎ It's summer break in Chalra City! The first half of August is a time full of freedom and opportunity if you're a teenager. If you're an adult, it's business as usual but there are way more kids and teens roaming the city at all hours of the day. Public pools and water gun contests are still a popular way to pass the time, but this time of year, many students flock to the nearby beaches to take advantage of their time off. Schools usually assign homework over the break, but who wants to think about homework when there's a whole world of summer fun to explore?
⭐︎ There are shuttle buses every other hour to Littleneck Beach, one of the larger and more popular beaches on the east coast of Atlace. The boardwalk along the beach is one of its major attractions, lined with shops, small arcades, snack bars and more! The biggest shop on the boardwalk is the Seafoam Five and Chime, a variety store that sells all kinds of beach paraphernalia at a budget price. Towels and trowels, sand buckets and boogie boards, sports drinks and sunscreen — the Seafoam Five and Chime has it all!
There's plenty to do on the beach without spending money, too! The water is a comfortable temperature with some pretty decent wave action most days, and lots of beachgoers like to just spend a day under the sun collecting seashells and having picnics on the sand.
⭐︎ The beach is where Chalra City's competitive side shows itself, and there's no shortage of competitive activities to participate in! Beach volleyball and sandcastle building are the two biggest and most popular competitions, but there are also contests for beach scavenging, watermelon eating, fishing, swimming, elaborate swimwear pageants, digging really deep holes, and more! There's something for every competitive spirit at Littleneck Beach.
⭐️ The annual trend wars over the summer's most popular sports drink are being waged once again! Every summer, brands of different sports and soft drinks launch intense marketing campaigns to win the public's loyalty. Nothing's for sure yet, but the classic brand Potari Sweet is enjoying a revival after falling into years of obscurity with a nostalgic ad campaign. New look, same great taste!
The deluge of summer singles have been hitting record stores at light speed, too — what started out as a marketing war between multimedia conglomerates Shinebow Arts and Four Clover Works has become a tradition of releasing sure-to-be-hit singles across the whole music industry. Outdoor concerts have become a summer staple in recent years, often featuring several musical acts with shorter sets comprised of only their latest music. Recent releases include Pastel*Palettes's Hot, Hot! Sunny Love☆Summer! and Afterglow's COMIC PANIC!!!.
BY STARLIGHT
⭐︎ Hope's Prophecy: In the early morning hours of August 2, Hope dreams a hazy premonition of Harbinger activity at the beach. It's not much to go on, but the sound of the surf is the strongest element.
⭐︎ Hideout Status: The massive Aquarium features four beautiful, lonely goldfish. Even mostly empty, the room is still somehow much more soothing than before.
⭐︎ Maomao's Garden: Regrowing ancient seed samples and testing their medicinal properties takes time, and Maomao has been wholly engrossed in her project. She seems to be bringing supplies from her father's pharmacy, but she's investigating the equipment in the Lab to see if it's of any use.
⭐︎ Nautis Updates: Nautis is just as worried as everyone else about Nova Pastos and Nova Justicar being trapped in the Abyss, and she's shoring up enough power to transmit another signal beam to hopefully help them escape before it's too late. In the meantime, though, she doesn't want everyone falling into despair!
> I've been watching a lot of Earth films lately, and I know just what we need: a team-building exercise ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ
> I propose a day at the beach!
> Earth has such beautiful oceans. It's something to be treasured and appreciated.
> I know you all have limited memories of your past lives, but surely you remember how important the Ocean was to Hassaleh.
> The fate of our planet was sealed the moment that the Abyss consumed our Ocean. And somehow, I feel it would be the same for Earth.
> So take a bus and get in touch with your alien heritage! Bond with your comrades! Get sand in your shorts together!
> And hey, maybe visiting the beach will trigger more memories of your past lives ^_^
> But even if it doesn't, you could still build a sandcastle and then destroy it and describe to me what that feels like!
⭐︎ Intel: The Harbingers have begun to target the Nova Knights directly, which means they've acknowledged our magical heroes a real threat. This threat cuts both ways, however; while human identities are entirely disposable to the Harbingers, the same can't be said for the reincarnated Nova Knights, and if the Harbingers were to discover any of their real identities, it could put their loved ones in danger. Nautis now knows for sure that the Harbingers are holding the Three Sisters in the engine room of their ship, so though it seems to be closely guarded, there's still hope of recovering it.
⭐︎ Trapped in the Abyss: On July 31st, Nova Pastos and Nova Justicar infiltrated the Dark Ocean to gather information about the stolen Constellation, but they were caught by the Harbinger Mistiluxia and sent to the Abyss, where they'll remain for the entire first week of August.
Mistiluxia is an even more formidable opponent than Shellustria, and she doesn't give them much opportunity to fight back before they 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 Pastos and Justicar 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 Pastos and Justicar to become separated while in the Abyss...Sounds like a bad time!
(In other words: other characters can thread with Dirk and Reese 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.)
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"Natashenka..." came the distinctly disappointed voice of Lenya behind the door.
"Sister's in trouble~"
"Leave it." She stands, and leaves the board as it is. "Change the board, and I will know."
"Nyehhhhhhh"
Natalia opens the door. "Mother?"
"Natashenka." She is holding the envelope. "What is this? It is far too much to be for your friend's clothing, yes?"
Natalia pauses, looks around with her eyes, raises half an eyebrow. "...Is my share of rent."
"Natashenka," Lenya says, in the tone of heartbroken mothers everywhere. "No. We come to Chalra City for to keep you from having to do this."
"... I know..." Natalia can't look Lenya in the eyes. "I know we are struggling."
Lenya sighs, and puts her arms around Natalia. With them like this, it's easy to see that Natalia's a couple inches yet to get to Lenya's height, for all she's six feet now. Her words are so, so gentle. "Natashenka. Bonnya. No, this is not a thing you need to do. We are not worried about the rent. How long have you been working for this?"
"This was... Just this past week."
"You have been working for longer?"
"... Yes, mother."
She sighs, pulls back, and gently taps the pay envelope to Natalia's chest. "I know you well. You have all of them, still, haven't you?"
"Yes. A prudent reserve, in case of--"
"Natashenka." She looks into her daughter's eyes. "Take those, and go buy things for yourself."
"... but..."
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Natalia has been... saving all of her money to give to her family. And Hope doesn't know what to think of that, but it does make them feel a little more confident in the nature of the client-seamstress relationship to do what they want to do. It isn't charity this way. Besides, it's always good to show your appreciation for manual labor.
They aren't going to insert themself into this conversation between mother and daughter, but they do slowly walk a little more into frame so Natalia can see them behind her mother. They don't clear their throat, but they mime the action, silently coughing into a closed fist.
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"... I will try," she says, after a moment's hesitation with an open mouth.
"It is strength you have earned, like all the other strength. Now. Client, yes?" She turns and smiles at Hope. "I am sorry you have to wait, this was not in plan for any of us, yes?"
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With hopes of deflecting or distracting her from the amount they're paying, Hope adds, "She's right, Natashenka." It might be overstepping to use that nickname, but hopefully the spirits are... of a decent enough height that it won't matter. "I'm pretty sure you had plans in mind with someone at the beach? Or a couple someones? Maybe you could use the money for that."
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"Oohhhh~?" Lenya says in the way of intensely interested mothers everywhere.
Natalia changes gears to try and cover up. "-- Yes. The study friend I have mentioned once or twice, is all. We met through lacrosse?"
"Ah, yes, the 'Cynthia'?"
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"She's mentioned her to me, too," they say, laying it on a little thicker than they might otherwise. "She seems very nice, Cynthia. And Natalia seems to like her a lot already. And a few other people she's mentioned in passing, too, if I remember right... you've had a few things to say about Maya too, haven't you?"
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... You know at least Sergey is okay, but thanks to everyone else, Natalia has-- while not changing expressions-- managed to turn red as a beet. "I simply do not know how to deal with Maya, just as I do not know how to deal with some of my classmates."
Kalim immediately came to mind, as well, for example.
But of course, Lenya's looking like the cat who ate the cream. "Ah, to be that young."
Natalia WANTS to say something, WANTS to protest mightily, but the only thing that emerges is a slightly tortured and extended squeak.
Lenya laughs.
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"Okay, doing it twice is mean enough. I can back off." They seem in much better spirits because of it, though, not that they've been in a horrible mood at all. If anything, being out here, spending time with other people, being social even in a business transaction, it's done a lot to help them feel more adjusted. They exhale and let their shoulders drop a little.
"I hope I get to come back here a lot. I'm sure you wouldn't mind having me as a repeat customer, huh?" they ask Natalia's mother half-seriously.
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Natalia might not be very expressive, but also, it's clear she feels for Hope about swapping stories with Lenya over stew. She's also incredibly aware that if Hope does come by, Lenya will absolutely pick their brain about Natalia's social life.
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"And I guess," and they start talking to Natalia again with a stupid little grin, "You and I will have to go out for pizza again tomorrow so I can give your mom some more gossip."
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"YOU DID THAT YESTERDAY"
thank you sergey, you are a tiny menace