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thenashira2026-01-06 04:03 pm
nashiramods) wrote in thenashira2026-01-06 04:03 pm
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Game Update: September I 2377
🎶 Recommended Listening: MOON PRIDE - Momoiro Clover Z ♪
september i 2377
EPISODE 9: Cosmetic Crashout! All That Glitters Must be Mine!
September 1 - September 15
Constellations: 2/7 Constellations captured. The Nova Knights have the Dancer and the Three Sisters.
Weather: Summer in Chalra City is finally winding down, but it's not over just yet! Although the taste of fall is in the air, the days are still long and the afternoons still get pretty warm. The die-hard beachgoers are getting the most out of the last few weeks of good beach weather, but the crowds at Littleneck Beach have thinned out significantly. The highs for the month average around 81°F/27C° with lows around 68°F/20C°.
Recap: August II was a little bit of a welcome lull in the action, although after Nova Sunbeam and Nova Crescent were claimed by the Abyss, the rest of the Nova Knights found it difficult to relax. Still, there were plenty of end-of-summer distractions with the spicy food eating contest and the Chalra City fireworks festival — or if you prefer your nights quiet and contemplative, the Midnight Diner was serving pieces and beach sauce just about every night.
BY DAYLIGHT
⭐︎ If there's one summer trend that's here to stay for the rest of the year, it's glitter-filled body products! After the popularity of PEARLESCENCE™ in the sunscreen market, a host of shimmery lotions and palettes populate the makeup section from drugstores to high-end boutiques. A new brand emerges amidst the hype: Shimmersea Cosmetics has products everywhere makeup is sold, and all of those products have glitter in them. Every single one. Shine on, baby.
Chalra City's perpetual trend machine turns Shimmersea products into a sensation almost overnight, and pretty soon the whole city is wearing something a little glittery. Even your painfully fashion-shy neighbor seems to be carrying around a little tube of roll-on glitter by the end of the first week of September. Maybe there's just something empowering about wearing glitter, because the Chalra City residents who take to Shimmersea Cosmetics's line seem to be acting...bolder.
⭐︎ The early stages of hype have begun for one of the premier fall culture events, the Chalra City Arts Council Couture Benefit! Jointly sponsored by Shinebow Arts and Four Clover Works, the Arts Council stages an elaborate fundraising experience to support its continued activities bringing art of all kinds to the people of Chalra City. The event is usually hosted by the Everwave Museum of Art, and while the proceedings of the dinner itself are swathed in secrecy, the red carpet portion for the gawking public are usually held in the museum's lobby, the ceiling of which is painted to look like the night sky with dozens of shimmering constellations. For this reason, it's known as the Celestial Gala for short. A few decades ago, celebrities started bringing their pets as their plus ones, dressing them in haute couture to match. This was met with explosive popularity and these days, it's pretty much a given that most attendees will have a lavishly costumed animal in their company, giving the event its other famous nickname: the Pet Gala. There are entire circles of Couture Benefit enthusiasts who focus solely on the changing winds of pet fashion.
The Celestial Gala won't happen until the end of September, but that doesn't stop the rumor mills for churning out wild speculation about the theme. The theme for each year's Gala is released only two weeks before the event itself, at which point the haute couture machine in Atlace goes into a frenzy brainstorming, designing, and executing insanely high-concept costumes for those famous gala appearances. Rumors of designers putting finishing touches on their clients' outfits just before they step out of their cars onto the red carpet are common, and last year one celebrity debuted with her tailor still sewing the train onto her dress — though she insisted it be considered a part of the costume's concept.
It remains a mystery what the Chalra City Arts Council Couture Benefit will look like this year, but you can be sure it'll be absolutely fabulous.
BY STARLIGHT
⭐︎ Hope's Prophecy: Thanks to their past life 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 either, but there's always next time!
⭐︎ Hideout Status: Nothing new, but as a refresher, as of August II the Training Room has been unlocked, which contains the Star Plus series, a few arcade-style cabinets the Nova Knights can use for training: Star Plus Blazer, a target practice game to help hone weapon proficiency; Star Plus Light Catcher, a Whac-a-Mole style game where you bop cute little star-shaped monsters; and Star Plus Beats, a drumming game with two large drums that helps with magic power circulation.
⭐︎ Maomao's Garden: Maomao seems to be making some progress on her xenogardening experiments based on the intermittent cackling coming from behind the closed doors of the Lab. She's been showing her face around the hideout a little more, but trespassers into the Lab will still be hissed at and chased out.
⭐︎ Nautis Updates: On the evening of September 1, Nautis messages the Nova Knights with uncharacteristic reluctance to inform them that Nova Valorous has been captured by the enemy and now joins their other comrades in the Abyss. She's worried about morale, and she does a bad job of hiding it — but keep that chin up and let this fuel your determination!
> We'll just have to redouble our efforts from here on out. After all, there are still 9 of us! 10 if you count Niangniang! ( •̀ ^ •́ )✧
> I mean, I don't, but I think it's important to round up for morale.
> You've all been working so hard, so remember to take a little me time every now and then!
> I'd like to say the lull in the action continues...but then I'd be lying. And lying is wrong (ᴗ_ ᴗ。)
> Unfortunately, it looks like Prince Shellustria is up to his usual tricks. My sensors tell me there's some nasty Harbinger magic at work in Chalra City. I'd bet doubloons to bells that he's trying to steal the energy of the hardworking people again!
> For real, though, the Harbingers are soooo unoriginal.
> If I were trying to take dominion over Earth, my plots would be way more interesting. I wouldn't use the same idea twice. I've got SO many ideas.
> But I'm not, so don't worry about it ദ്ദി(ᵔᗜᵔ)
> Anyway, it's worth looking into anything new happening around the city. If nothing else, there's always something new around here!
> Congratulations on body glitter finally becoming an accessible beauty product, by the way. I'm overjoyed that the people of Earth are FINALLY developing a sense of taste ◝(ᵔᵕᵔ)◜
> Seriously, you're all absolute eons behind the times from a Hassalean perspective, but I'm really starting to feel at home here on Earth!
> I've managed to stabilize the Three Sisters, by the way. They're in need of some serious magical repairs, but we'll be able to restore the Constellation to its former strength.
> I'll need some help from you all when I'm ready, but hold tight for now. The Harbingers will pay for what they did to our precious Constellation!
⭐︎ Intel: Once again, Nautis is right — by the second week, the Nova Knights have caught onto the fact that the Harbingers are using the current cosmetic craze to camouflage their latest energy-gathering plot. Sorry if you were getting really into the Shimmersea Cosmetics lineup because that's the bad guys' brand actually :(
It seems to be doing more than just your classic energy harvest, though. Like the Potari Sweet plot back in August I, the body glitter also seems to influence the behavior of those who wear it: people are making pretty bold and daring choices. This isn't the extreme risk-taking behavior the Nova Knights witnessed at Littleneck Beach, though; rather, people wearing Shimmersea Cosmetics seem uncharacteristically unafraid to make a Statement.
With Nautis's help and some good old-fashioned investigation, the Nova Knights track the distribution of Shimmersea Cosmetics to a street kiosk in the red-light district. The shopkeeper herself turns out to be the boss monster Shimmeronica, guarding (of course) a pocket dimension where the harvested energy is being stored. When the Nova Knights face off against her, however, some of those newly bold and daring customers become possessed, and while they don't try to attack the Nova Knights, they're pretty effective human obstacles. Fortunately, the recently acquired Star Suite Power Soul Flash can free such people of the influence of the Abyss!
Some of the Nova Knights dedicate their efforts to cleansing the Abyssal influence from the victims while the rest throw hands with Shimmeronica in the pocket dimension she guards. In the end, not only are they victorious, they manage to reclaim the stolen energy as well, ensuring it doesn't go back to feed the Abyss!
Shimmeronica's pocket dimension begins to collapse in on itself after her defeat, but before it does, something unusual happens: it creates a brief link to the Dark Ocean through which the Nova Knights can temporarily see. It's similar to what Maya and Hope encountered when they escaped from the Abyss, and the Nova Knights witness a private conversation between two of the Harbingers:
Click here for a cutscene! (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧
"No! Are you s— argh! No! No!"Shellustria's agonized voice echoed in the small confines of the engine room as he watched the Nova Knights trash his precious energy-hoarding pocket dimension in realtime via datapad. A torrent of catastrophic readouts cascaded down one side of the screen, narrating to him its destruction with accuracy as crisp as video footage. The monster guardian had been more or less magically vaporized, and the meddlesome Earthlings had even cut loose the harvested energy before it could be transported back to the Dark Ocean. Damn it, he thought he was being careful this time. Mistiluxia had even managed to re-cloak the ship from the Nova Knights' prying sensors — or so she claimed, anyway. How did they keep discovering his every plot?
"Shimmeronica," Shellustria wailed, mashing his forehead against the wall-mounted datapad, "how could you fail me like this? I gave you everything you needed, didn't I? Why couldn't you pull through on this one simple task?"
"Oh, dear," said a voice by his ear, "it doesn't look like things are going very well, does it?"
Shellustria jumped as Mistiluxia materialized at his side, both feet fully clearing the floor, and when he landed he stumbled back into the wall. When did she get here, and how could he have not noticed? She stood there with her hands clasped in front of her, her smile patient but expectant.
"M-Mistiluxia! I can explain!"
"Oh, I don't think you need to explain anything," Mistiluxia said with her usual good cheer. "It's abundantly clear that whatever tenuous handle you had on this situation with the Nova Knights has completely slipped from your grasp. Not only do they keep discovering your plans before you can finish executing them, you didn't even bring anything back with you this time! Perhaps you'd like to supply the Dark Ocean with your own energy again?"
Shellustria's mouth snapped shut on any protest of insults to his professional competence, his face draining of color.
"No!" he said, a little too quickly, his voice a little too high. He backed a full step away from Mistiluxia, realizing with dismay that she was between him and the door. Cold sweat prickled along the back of his neck. He fought to quell the traitorous tremor in his voice. "No, that — that won't be necessary."
Mistiluxia tilted her head to the side with a concerned smile, touching a finger to her chin. "Are you sure? Perhaps I should call —"
"I said it won't be necessary," Shellustria said, the heartbeats in his ears almost drowning out the sound of his own voice. He was holding his fan in a white-knuckled grip. "I will be successful next time. I'll take care of this. This is the last time they get in my way."
"I can see you're quite motivated, Master Shellustria! In that case, I'll give you one last chance." Mistiluxia lightly clapped her hands together with a bright-eyed smile. "But if you can't finish the job, then I'll simply have to ask someone who can! You've lost a Constellation and four captured Nova Knights so far, and I'm afraid to say that your track record isn't looking very good. In fact, the most helpful contribution you've made so far is as a living power cell for the Dark Ocean! Perhaps you might consider a change of career?"
Mistiluxia tittered to herself as though she'd just made a pleasant joke. Shellustria flinched despite himself at the implied threat and tried to back away further, only to discover that she had backed him into a corner of the engine room without his realizing. She leaned in further, invading his personal space, and booped him on the nose.
"I'll be cheering for you from the sidelines, Master Shellustria!"
"I'll take care of it," Shellustria ground out as Mistiluxia turned and bounced on her heels towards the door. He clenched both hands into fists, not permitting them to shake, but his face was still a ghastly pale. "Just you watch, Mistiluxia — I'll prove my worth as one of the Lalixian Royal Family! I am totally worthy of ruling this miserable puddle!"
🌊🌊🌊
...And that's all the Nova Knights see before the pocket dimension collapses in on itself and boots them back out into the real world.
After the dust settles, Shimmersea Cosmetics products basically disappear from shelves overnight, as does the kiosk in the red-light district.
at verdigris house!
But as far as mundane tests will reveal, Shimmersea products are perfectly safe to use. Maomao was surprised to discover that not only do they not contain anything toxic, the manufacturer seems to be using a seaweed-based biodegradable glitter, and prolonged wear doesn't seem to irritate the skin any more than your average cosmetic product.
Yes, of course Maomao tested the body glitter on herself. She just did it on the arm that's usually bandaged and out of sight. That stuff really gets everywhere, though.
What she can't say for sure is whether or not it's magically safe, but Lab still isn't in working order, and none of the courtesans seem to be plagued by sudden fatigue, so maybe this is just one of Chalra City's normal trends. It's true that Verdigris House has been really booming lately, but she'd idly chalked it up to the madam's marketing prowess.
Maya is busier than Maomao was expecting, which is maybe a little uncharitable of her, but she's also pretty sure that the madam hired Maya in order to piss off Morgan rather than for her extraordinary talents. She does have her own particular charm, Maomao supposes. She waits until Maya has a couple of free minutes between guests before she comes bearing a tray with two mugs of hot tea and takes a seat at the table next to Maya. Up close, Maomao can really see how much body glitter she's wearing, and it's a lot. Damn, even Maya's gone all in on this craze.
The tea was mostly a pretense, and she doesn't even say so much as a word of greeting before swiping a finger along Maya's forearm. She looks at her beglittered fingertip and lets out a thoughtful hm.
no subject
But a girl likes to get paid, and when the people want to pay her, the girl delivers.
And for all this stuff's been annoying to get off, somehow, it almost seems to lift Maya's mood. Not exactly in the joyful way— just that she feels like she can keep going, keep pressing on even without breaks. Sure, it makes her time after her shifts really exhausting, but it does mean that Maya's not exactly turning off the Happy-go-Lucky charm at work, either. That, and the biggest downside is how much she can't seem to get it off. No matter how much she washes, there's always a glimmer left here and there.
When Maomao sits down, Maya takes in a breath and smiles to give a greeting, halting the second Maomao swipes her finger down her arm, though.
All at once, the back of Maya's neck heats up in embarrassment. She knows! She knows it's dumb! And she knows this is exactly the kind of thing Maomao would think is dumb and tease her for!
And so bold, impulsive Maya doesn't speak in return. She doesn't even move, for a moment. But then, quick as she can, she leans forward and reaches out, trying to rub her arm against anywhere she can get it on Maomao.