nysalogs | ❪ march event log: taken! ❫

CW: This event log will contain descriptions and threads involving extreme violence, torture, and possible death. While we do not intend to push beyond any boundaries indicated in sign ups, players may opt out of any aspect of their group write-ups that they find uncomfortable.

Characters who have been assigned a role for this month's plot will find specific information about their groups and locations in headers below. We encourage that you thread among your groups within these headers, and as a reminder, only characters with plot roles may participate in rescue threads or hostage situations. All characters, however, are welcome to toplevel and tag in this log.

To receive special commendation and be recognized as heroes in a future post, hostages and rescuers must submit a short summary of their event participation HERE by March 24th.

OVERVIEW

While the riots and fanatic celebrating in Olympia and Wyver have subsided, neither city is naive enough to believe that life has yet returned to normal. There remains a tension among the citizens: not the slow simmer waiting to boil over that had preceded the aforementioned events, but an apprehension and fear that, despite the Royal Guard and Knightryder’s best efforts, the worst is yet to come.

In Olympia, as night falls on the 18th, their fears are proven true.

With their previous attempts at revolution through the riots having fallen short, the anti-Simwe radicals in Olympia carry out a more covert operation in their efforts to seize power. Having compiled a list of persons of interest, observed them, gathered intel and taken efforts to ensure that their movements will not be tracked, the radicals strike on the night of the 18th. The entire operation is discrete, and one by one people go missing from streets, homes, and businesses.

News that the kidnappings were a large scale operation doesn’t break in Olympia until the following day, but whispers have already travelled to a similar group of radicals in Wyver, who, fearing what a political coup in Olympia would mean for Wyver—or, more specifically how this could affect their chances to stage their own coup should Shanrian choose to step in—launch their own gambit for power with a similar scheme in the early hours of the 19th before dawn. Many are taken straight from their homes, or on their way to work.

For all their historical tension and division, Olympia and Wyver aren’t that different once the authorities become aware of what has happened. Both cities remain on the alert. In Olympia, Simwe orders immediate action from the Royal Guard, eager to win over the loyalty of her citizens by showing her commitment to freeing the hostages, while in Wyver, Shanrian is equally quick to take action with the Knightryders. The Altar of Volkkra is one of the most sacred institutions in Wyver, and the threat of the radicals drawing followers using its banner is too great to ignore.

ABDUCTIONS AND THE SEARCH

1. Radical groups in both cities have decided that certain citizens of their respective cities would prove to be valuable hostages. Perhaps you've been traveling between cities. Or maybe you've drawn their attention by being outspoken, excelling at your city job, or being an active citizen with a great reputation. What were you doing before you got snatched up? Did someone attempt to stop this terrible thing from happening, to no avail? Did you put up a valiant fight? Regardless of how it happened, you will be forcibly outfitted with an accessory that renders you completely powerless. The extremists are no strangers to magic, either.

2. Those that didn't sign up can still witness characters being abducted and attempt to stop it, though in the end they'll fail to stop the radicals. Characters who either witness these kidnappings or notice the absences can spread the word via missing persons posters, making calls to action, or embarking on searches. Characters that would ICly look for hostages but did not sign-up for the event can still go investigate, but will ultimately not find any kidnappers. All characters may also conduct investigations in locations not included in the clues.

3. With key figures around the cities abducted, several shops and organizations are left stressed and short-staffed. Characters may find themselves working long hours, and can volunteer to help the Guard/Nightryders as they're stretched thin, as well as other key locations such as the Institute, the Fields of the Exalted, etc. There are also children, elderly people, and pets who have been left without care, due to their guardians being kidnapped. Everyone is asked to lend a helping hand.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

1. As rescues take place, extremists will be fleeing the following locations: Simwe Institute, the Sanctuary, and the Royal Guard Academy for Olympia, and a cave high on Namarak Mountain, or an island tower off the coastline for Wyver. Characters that did not sign-up can still catch and round up fleeing radicals as hostages are rescued, with additional details on what the extremists in a particular region are capable of in the group details below.

2. Hostages, both NPC and PC, will be gradually found and recovered between March 18th to the 24th. With how harrowing the experience is, rescuers and abductees alike may require medical attention and a helping hand. Perhaps you hope to support them with a shoulder to lean on, or by being there on Natha Station when any dead awake. Either way, the extremists may be defeated, but morale across both cities has taken a hit.

3. Healing doesn't always mean taking care of just the physical harm. Affected people in the cities, both PCs and NPCs, may have significant emotional scars from their experience. These are much harder to heal, and may not be going away anytime soon, but the people are doing their best to provide happy distractions to those who were taken hostage. Acts of kindness are encouraged and appreciated. Perhaps you can cook a few meals to take a burden off their shoulders, organize a fundraiser to help with relief efforts, or read a book to someone in recovery. A little bit of your time may go a long way.

FINAL OOC NOTES

Once again, hostages and rescuers may find detailed info on their scenarios in subheaders below. These may also be used as top levels for each group! Additionally, all characters, including those that did not sign up, are welcome to toplevel in this log.

For characters that are dying, please be sure to review the FAQ on death! We've updated it to provide more details for everyone this event.

Don't forget to submit a summary of your event participation to guide our plot forward and earn influence with the NPCs!

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Riku tenses for a second when Axel comes closer – he knows exactly what kind of can of memories he's opening here (or well… almost. His own memory is a little fuzzy at some parts already, after all).

His hand goes up to touch his forehead when Axel mentions her name, a sharp pain shooting through his head as those fuzzy memories become a tiny bit clearer again. "Xion… that's right. Her name was Xion."

He shakes his head at the not!question that Axel is asking – because well…

"Of course, he doesn't. I shouldn't either, but ever since I got here the memories of her stopped from disappearing."

Maybe it's because of the Storm, Riku thinks, but that's really just speculation.

His eyes narrow a little when Riku seems to be having trouble with the name, and when he he explains, it's... well, everything Axel feared it would be. He sighs and lowers his eyes.

"I'm surprised, honestly," he admits, furrowing his brow. "I figured you would have forgotten, too, but... I dunno, this weird timeloop thing is confusing." He presses his thumb against the ridge of one eye. "I still remember, but... sometimes even I seem to forget. Like if I'm not actively thinking about her she just kind of fades into this... weird background noise." He shakes his head. "But I know Sora's from some point in my future," he says, shaking his head, "and if Xion's been forgotten by then, I wanna make sure I stop that from happening, at least here."

He meets Riku's eye, then, before looking down again, frowning at the earth between his shoes.

"I guess I should be a little grateful," he says, almost sullen. "Part of me wondered if I hallucinated her. This place has shown me memories of other people, shown me other worlds being swallowed by the Storm, I worried, for a minute, that... maybe Xion wasn't part of my past at all, that she was just some fabrication these Orbiters put in my head to make sure I'd behave."

Riku just looks at Axel for a moment, gut twisting with sympathy… if he were in the other's situation… if it was him clinging to the memory of Sora or Kairi… he'd want to cling to that too. Even so…

"I don't remember her entirely clearly, but I still remember what she and I talked about and that she made her choice. The choice that was the best for everyone involved."

For Sora and Roxas… and everyone else too.

"I'm not sure there is anything that can be done to preserve her memory here… or if it should. If I ever fall asleep and wake up with knowledge of Sora's future… then I'll probably have forgotten her too."

"Not everyone involved," Axel mutters darkly, but he can't really indict Riku for what he says. He knows that even though it meant Xion's disappearance, her return to Sora had been her own choice, and... ultimately, it was the right choice. He doesn't like it, but he has to acknowledge that. Without her sacrifice, both she and Roxas might have just disappeared, or worse, and as much as he hates to admit it, he knows that's the truth.

He shakes his head firmly.

"Sora can have those memories back," he says firmly, a tightness to his voice and something like pain in his eyes, "but he can't have mine." He holds Riku's gaze for a long moment, as if daring him to refute. "If my future holds nothing but her disappearing, then... I'm not gonna just let it happen, if I can help it," he says. "I won't forget her. I'll write a whole damn book about her if I have to. My memories of Xion don't make a damn bit of difference to Sora or his narcoleptic inclinations."

He understands why those memories of Xion would fade away, but... if he can hold onto them, even if he's the only one, even if it's only in those moments when he reads the words he writes down about her, that'll be enough.

Riku looks at him without commenting at first – neither of them will have any say about what memories stay and what disappear. Xion’s entire existence was built on Sora’s memories after all, so returning those memories inevitably means for those of Xion to disappear from all of them.

Still…

“I hope you’ll succeed with that. Xion didn’t deserve what happened.”

That much is true too… she had been a good person, someone who had loved her friends and had wanted to protect them the best she could… and ultimately it had cost her existence.

All because of the Organization.

Axel is quiet for a long moment, then heft a sigh and just shoves his hands into his pockets.

"No, she didn't," he agrees, but that's all he really has to say on the subject. He lingers where he stands for a moment, then clears his throat. "S... so, ah... East End." He glances in one direction, then the other, then at Riku. "East is this way, right?"

He's legitimately not sure. Are the cardinal directions the same here as he's used to? Which direction does the sun rise? When Riku does indicate which direction they should go in, he just takes an easy pace, and after a moment he gives the younger man a sidelong look.

"I guess, since you used your first question on something kinda silly, I could give you one bonus question, if you really want." He lifts his chin a little. "In the interests of fostering knowledge, and all."

❪ march event log: taken! ❫

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