May Event Log

[kaisoumods]

May Event
Dominant Element: Shadow
Waning Element: Light

Full Moon: May 4th - May 6th

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As Kaisou goes from April to May, the weather gradually gets warmer. There's lots of bright, sunny days ahead, though the nights are darker than perhaps is usual thanks to the increase in Shadow-elemented energy coming from the Spirit Realm. The night sky is streaked in dark purple and black, and those aligned with the Shadow element will feel themselves just vibrating with excess energy or creativity. Light-aspected characters, meanwhile, will feel more lethargic than normal.

May Flowers

If April was the month of spring showers, May is the month of bright, colorful flowers. There are flowers everywhere in the city, even places that don't normally have very many; grassy medians on the streets are dotted with daffodils and dandelions, parks and playgrounds are more buttercup than child, and neighbors get into fights over who's rosebush is growing over the fence and choking out the other's tulips. The local flora groups online talk about how this level of growth is unheard of for Kaisou, but it's also stunning so they're not too concerned with it.

The school year is nearly done, and the students of Kaisou High are certainly feeling the crunch. The end of year concert is the talk of the school, at least when they're not talking about exams, and everyone is looking forward to the end of the year. Seniors are getting hounded about their plans after high school and the college is doing tours for prospective freshmen. In between all of that, the student council is going around trying to get everything ready for prom at the end of the month. It's a busy time to be a high schooler.

Meanwhile, those college students who have finally managed to get enough credits are either celebrating their upcoming freedom or wondering why on God's green earth they decided to go into grad school. Oh, well. At least there's likely to be some parties hosted by students for stress relief.

Taste of Kaisou

With the weather so nice, some businesses in Kaisou have gotten together to host a fair in the latter half of the month called the Taste of Kaisou. Working with the local farmer's market and other small businesses, the area around Blue Fish Park is turned into the "fairgrounds". Stalls are set up, and there's even an area set aside for entertainment from local musicians and other entertainers.

Anything you could want to eat can be found here--from excellent Chinese cuisine courtesy of Wanmin Restaurant located in Midtown right next to Trattoria Trussardi, to lovely "Sharlayan" cuisine from The Last Stand in uptown (don't worry, it's all edible), all the way to good old fashioned burgers and fries from Big Bang Burger down on Shopping Street. And they're all giving out free samples.

If restaurant sampling isn't your speed or you just want to support local businesses, the farmer's market can also be found here! Fresh local honey, organic eggs, and other locally made goods such as crochet rugs or candles or even flower crowns can be found among the stalls here. There's even some people selling food! And they also have samples!

Every stall you stop at will happily tell you all about their goods, and they all mention that it really was a "bumper crop" this year, as they've never seen their carrots/apples/tomatoes/flowers do so well this early in the season. They certainly aren't complaining, of course, and they kind of hope that it carries on the rest of the year.

All in all, the Taste of Kaisou is a good way to spend a few hours if you have nothing else to do.

Surprises Everywhere

As you go about your life this month, perhaps even while you're at the Taste of Kaisou, you might suddenly find your path blocked by a strange flower. No one else around can see it unless they are also on the Libra app, and attempting to go around the flower will just result in it popping out of the ground in front of you again. Or tripping over its roots, if you're going to be stubborn about it. It won't leave you alone until you pat its head, at which point it will spit out a random item before vanishing.

What the heck was that about?!

Up to the Heavyside Layer

During the weekend of May 5th, an unusual Zodiac message will appear on the Libra app.

ALERT: SPIRIT REALM BREACH IN THE ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT.

Element Classification: Shadow
Danger Level: Low to Medium
Designation: Walled City 99
A new gate has appeared in the Entertainment District between Coricopat's Cat Café and Growltiger's Pawn Shop. Initial investigations indicate that this gate leads into a strange walled city. No signs of human life have been detected, but it does not appear to be hostile to it. Please proceed with some caution.

The Zodiac headquarters are bustling with activity. Weirder still, all the staff are very accommodating and willing to help characters prepare for their journey into the Spirit Realm. There's no dodgy side deals, no encouragement to bring things back from the Realm; they seem overly eager to be as helpful and charitable as they can be. The Professor is a little confused by all the hustle and bustle of Zodiac around him. He missed all the chaos that happened (after all, none of that happened in the conscious, waking world) and doesn't quite get why Zodiac are suddenly so gung-ho about helping people. "It's like they got Dickens'ed or something, geez!"

He explains to our characters that information on the gate is that it's set quite a ways in the future, which isn't his remit at all- he's all about history, you guys! Regardless, there seems to be some environmental issue going on- real big vibes of what happens when corporate overlords make things a mess - comments which make Zodiac employees seem very uncomfortable. The Professor also explains that there's been a lot of talk about cats, which he wants nothing to do with: "peace out, folks, I don't like cats." Zodiac employees caution there will be a lot of climbing involved, and to stay away from shadowy areas. And with that, intrepid explorers set off.

It's not too hard to find the gate, even if the alert hadn't given the users a rough location.

It is extremely hard to miss the meowing, hissing, and assorted cat noises coming from the area between the cat café and the pawn shop. Hopefully no one is allergic to cats, because the number of cats milling about only increases as you get closer to the gate-- though oddly enough none of the cats are actually near the gate. There's an area about three feet in diameter by the gate that is entirely feline free; the gate itself looks like a pile of precariously perched boxes and old electronics.

Walled City 99

Characters who decide to step into the spirit realm this month will find themselves in Walled City 99. Walled City 99 is a multi-level city with a huge wall surrounding it, and a solid metal dome over the sky, forming a circle of lights, providing endless "stars". No natural light comes in at all- the whole city is completely enclosed. There are a few shrubs hanging desperately to life- characters investigating will find this is thanks to UV lights and the fact they have been specially created to grow in low light.

For those characters with an animal curse, they might find themselves changed, turned into the animal they are cursed with, or at least, a mundane version of it. This might make traversing the city either easier or considerably harder, depending on which animal they are connected to.

As characters further inspect this world, they will learn the city-- and those that populate it-- were created by a corporation called NecoCorp. Their logo can be found all over the city. As characters explore, they learn that this was a corporation which promised to deliver sustainability to clear up a growing garbage problem in the world at large, but ultimately chose to literally close the problem away. The cities originally designed to protect human life became a dumping ground as they were abandoned by the corporation and the world at large.

While the world seems devoid of most organic life, they will find some artificial life clinging onto existence here:

Companions are the main denizens of this world. Androids who were originally created by NecoCorp to do all the menial labour humans didn't want to do. They're not the sleek, technological wonders you would expect from most cyberpunk settings. Companions are clunky at best, seemingly put together with scrap metal, with huge 90s-style computer monitors for heads. The screens act as faces, with pixilated expressions upon them showing a change of mood.

After the humans abandoned them in their closed city, Companions AI evolved beyond its original purpose. They developed their own personalities, they adopted each other to become families, and some even fell in love! No matter what level of the city, all Companions have a pretty solid community with each other - they all still work their jobs, be that cleaning, running stores or playing music- but they all have their own aspirations and dreams, just like any human would. They have their own fashion tastes and will wear a variety of clothing that they've largely salvaged from the garbage NecoCorp left behind. They're SUPER into cats- congrats if you're currently in cat form, they will love you. Their opinions of the world outside the city tend to be cynical- either stating it's a complete pipe dream only the insane follow or that it would be nice if possible, but things have been the same for so long, they don't see anything changing. They refer to all characters as "outsiders" and those turned animal as "little outsiders."

If characters ask about humanity (or are human themselves) they will quickly learn that humans are long gone from this world. The Companions refer to them as their "ancestors" or "The Soft Ones". There's no straight answer as to what happened to humanity, if they died out or found a way to leave the planet altogether- but it will be made clear that for centuries it was thought that the world outside the cities was desolate and unlivable, thanks to something humanity (and NecoCorp) did. But the denizens of the city will take living, organic beings as proof the outside is healed.

While the city is mostly safe, there does remain one serious, prevalent threat throughout this city that the Companions strongly caution against: the Zurks. Evolved from bacteria NecoCorp created for waste management, Zurks are nasty little creatures who devour both organic and inorganic materials. Companions are rightfully terrified of them and avoid their areas completely. Not much to worry about alone, but they will swarm and devour any characters who are unlucky enough to be caught by them like leggy piranhas. They can only be destroyed by sunlight. A character's best best chance of surviving is to run and dodge to get away from them. Luckily, they ARE stupid and will blindly follow characters over sheer edges if they chase them high enough. Better get those parkour skills up to snuff!

The Slums

The Slums are the lowest level of the city, and where our characters first step into this world: a shanty town built from derelict buildings and corrugated metal. Clambering around the rooftops is the easiest way to get around (with rusted air conditioning units and old vending machines providing a helpful lift for some solid parkouring), but characters can still walk around the streets. There are a lot of piles of trash dotted around here. The Companions here are cautious but friendly - excited to know what the outside world is like. They are protected by the Guardian, who warns visiting characters not to cause any harm to the Companions living here as they are under his protection.

Wandering around the city and talking to the Companions there will result in them asking the character's help in order to ingratiate the app users to the hosts of this new world. Luckily, everything the Companions require can be found around the slums area- though there will have to be some inventive climbing and light breaking and entering on occasion.

Music Sheets - A Companion named Morusque wants to play his guitar, but doesn't have any music sheets to read from. Go gather him some sheets, which are scattered around the slums, and he'll play them for you, including bangers such as "The Way You Compute Tonight", "Mildly Important Information" and "Ballad of the Lonely Robot". As a reward, he gives you an old plastic guitar pick.

Fashion! - A Companion named Grandma enjoys knitting and would like to try her hand at a poncho. She needs some electrical cable which she uses as wool. This can be found at Azooz's trading post. He will give it up for some laundry detergent. Find a way to break into the closed laundromat to get the detergent and Grandma will knit you a poncho made out of wires you can keep- STYLISH!

Drink your Troubles Away - Jacob, the Companion bartender of the local watering hole, Duffer Bar, needs to have more energy drinks for his patrons (Companions seem to eat and drink by "digitizing" foodstuffs, don't think about it too hard, it's weird). Ransack the vending machines dotted around the slums to help him out! For your help, you will receive a can of cat food. Despite its apparent age, it has a similar taste and texture to meat-based baby food. Don't ask how we know this.

Boom Chat Kalaka - A couple of teenage Companions want to play basketball - find them a ball and a hoop somewhere in the slums (or make one of your own!)- if you prove yourself Cool Enough they might even choose to play with you! That's a joke, no one is Cool Enough to hang with teenagers, not even robotic ones. If you help them out, they'll give you an unopened bottle of Crystal Pepsi. It's so old the expiration date has faded.

Tele a Chat - A Companion chilling on a sofa on the rooftops wants to watch TV- find a battery hidden somewhere in the slums- or trade something special with Azooz- to power it! You can hang and watch some TV if you want, there seem to be a lot of Companion-acted telenovelas. Helping the couch potato Companion will earn you a rare Energy Drink.

Once he is sure they have shown their mettle, the Guardian will send app users to seek out Momo, who lives in an apartment high on the slum's rooftops- it will take plenty of climbing skills to get up there. Momo is a downtrodden loner. He will explain that he was part of a resistance known as The Outsiders, who wanted to find a way to open the ceiling covering their city- this would not only let Companions leave and see the outside world, but also the sunlight would destroy the ever-encroaching Zurks. He explains that the elevator joining the levels of the city is broken, meaning the only way to travel between them is through the sewers. Momo admits he was too cowardly when the final push came to go to the upper levels, and he remained in the slums while his friends travelled onward. He regrets it deeply but remains too afraid to follow them.

Side Quest!

For those looking for something a little more dangerous to do, Momo will pull some characters aside and ask them to find Doc - another member of the Outsiders. Doc had been trying to find a way to fight off the Zurks, but hasn't been seen for some time. Momo points any willing characters to an area outside of the slums called "Dead End", where Doc was last headed. As might be expected, outside the safety of the populated area of the city, Zurks run rampant. Characters will have to be fast and agile to avoid being devoured.

Eventually, they will come across a building where Doc is holed up. He will explain that he was trapped here while testing out his Defluxor - essentially a UV ray gun designed to destroy the Zurks. He needs help powering it up, which involves attaching it to a generator across the compound he's trapped in. Characters will need to dodge some Zurks, power up the Defluxor and go back to Doc to help him escape. Doc is slow and nervy to escort around, but the Defluxor sends out beams of UV light to quite literally explode the Zurks into nothing. If a character currently doesn't have hands, Doc will attach it to a drop so it can hover above their heads. It DOES overheat quickly though, so characters will need to fight the Zurks in quick bursts while keeping Doc from being devoured- then take a few minute's break to allow the Defluxor to recharge again. Once Doc is brought home, he is joyfully reunited with his son, Seamus, and the Companions of the slums are delighted and singing the praises of the outsiders who helped bring one of their own home.

Momo finds some courage to help the characters travel some of the sewers, letting them ride on a small canoe through about half of the winding tunnels. Unfortunately, they eventually come to some doors he cannot traverse, and he leaves them to travel the rest alone- telling them to seek out the Antvillage and his fellow Outsider, Zbaltazar at the end of the sewer system. There will be plenty of Zurks in these pink goop-infested tunnels to avoid, as this is where their nests are; Zurks burst out of them without warning. Luckily, if you're travelling with someone who did the side quest to get the Defluxor, then life will be a lot easier as they have the means to vaporise the Zurks as they travel onward. Otherwise, characters are faced with a lot of running and avoiding again.

Antvillage

The sewers open up to a tree made from an enormous metal pipe, surrounded by water. This is the middle section of the walled city, known as Antvillage. There are UV lights dotted around meaning real trees grow up from the crevices and ground around it. Characters might even find some fruit to eat if they're bold enough to clamber to the branches dangling over the abyss. This area provides characters a chance to rest and recuperate. It will require a lot of climbing around, but ladders lead to various wooden levels dotted around the tree, surrounded by fairy lights and corners filled with soft cushions, perfect for napping in.

Companions in Antvillage are friendly and laid back, but pretty indifferent to seeing the outside world again. Everything feels very hippie-ish here. Staying in Antvillage feels a little like a siren's song. After all, why would you want to go where life is hard and dangerous when you can just relax in this fake canopy and not have to worry about anything? It's so very tempting to just...stay.

If they climb high enough, they will find Zbaltazar here. He is connected to a large number of computer screens, all of which show static- unless you speak to him, where his expression covers a multitude of screens as he speaks. He makes it clear he tried to get to the outside, but gave up, retreating to the peace of Antvillage, where he can meditate and see images of the outside from whatever system he's hacking into here. He shows no interest in helping characters move forward, only advising them to get to the top of the tree and head into Midtown to find Clementine, the one Outsider who has the drive and wherewithal to actually get out.

Midtown

Once characters climb the tree, they can slip through a pipe and into the upmost part of the city- Midtown. Densely populated with Companions, this is like any normal large city of Earth. There are stores, clubs and bars- the place is bustling with life, all basking in a bright, neon glow. Companions here are very cautious and it's almost impossible to talk to them- they ESPECIALLY won't talk about the outside. This is largely because Midtown has an active battalion of peacemakers and sentinels. Unlike normal Companions, these robotic beings have hard-wired programming to stop any "illegal" activity, which includes talking about or trying to get to the outside.

Hanging out in the city, characters will eventually find Clementine, the last of the Outsiders and the one most determined to get the hell out of the city. She's a wanted fugitive due to all the trouble she's caused in trying to get to the outside. Other Companions actively avoid her and only have bad things to say about her if she's brought up. She's trouble, and knowing her will get you in trouble, too. Despite the bad press about her, Clementine seems pretty friendly, if a little on the reckless side. She tells characters that the way to the outside is to get the subway train working- which will involve breaking into the NecoCorp factory in midtown and getting a battery cell to power the train. She needs help for a HEIST!

This will require a lot of stealth for characters to get through the heavily guarded factory. Sentinels will stun characters with tasers and lock them in jail if they are caught, where they will need to be rescued by others and start the heist all over again. It might take a few tries before they finally get the battery cell they need. This will bring a whole battalion of sentinels and peacekeepers bearing down on them. Clementine points them in the way of the subway and distracts their would-be-captors, giving everyone a chance to run.

After a quick battery addition to the subway train, our characters will find themselves zooming to the extremely deserted control room. Some tech-savvy characters will be needed to work out the complicated control systems here. Luckily, once they figure it out, the ceiling starts to open up, letting natural light spill into the city for the first time in millennia, cleansing it of Zurks and giving Companions the chance to feel the sun's rays and finally leave the city to explore the world.

Aftermath

Now the city is full of natural light characters are welcome to revisit it without fear of Zurks leaping out from the shadows. There's still a population of them in the sewers, where the light can't reach at all, and characters are welcome to go down there to finish them off with their Defluxors if they want to help the Companions out. There's plenty of cleanup in all parts of the cities- the sentinels seem to have shut down but the peacekeepers will need some corralling. There's plenty to do to help Companions adjust to their new way of life- and those who helped out Companions during their stay in the city will find FIRM friends in them. Those who choose to visit outside of the city will find a world overgrown with plants and nature. They'll note there are several colonies of stray cats in the area, which the Companions absolutely adore. Characters are welcome to keep revisiting Walled City 99 and until the gate eventually closes.

OOC Notes

The dominant element this month is Shadow! Anyone with an affinity to the shadow element will find themselves boosted throughout the month. This could mean a boost to their power, having more energy, feeling more inspired with creativity, having better luck on different attempts -- the boost can manifest in all sorts of different ways. By contrast, anyone with an affinity for Light will be experiencing the opposite. Perhaps their powers will be weaker, they have less energy, they're having a creative block or general worse luck - again it can manifest in all sorts of way and players are free to play with this mechanic as they'd like.

The original OOC plotting post for this event can be found here. Another Zodiac Post will be going up May 15th to serve as an intro post for new characters and allow characters to react to developments over the network.

Comments

[drewthetower]

I just know a lot of people! It happens when you do tarot readings at the farmer's market. Speaking of, if you want honey, they gave me like six different flavors.

[fionnuisce]

If you're offering, I wouldn't mind taking one or two off your hands.

[Trying and mostly failing not to laugh at this terrible conundrum.]

[drewthetower]

[August can't flip him off so he just sticks his tongue out at Waver. Rude.]

You can have some. You can have the mead-making kit too, if you want it. I don't drink it.

[fionnuisce]

Tempting as that is, in no universe can I picture myself having the time to make use of it.

[waver please.]

Speaking of which--I've got Shounagon volunteering to help with scheduling, so the pair of us should be able to handle that side of the logistical paperwork. I can deal with details like keeping track of inventory and general upkeep, so all you should need to worry about is the financial side of things.

[drewthetower]

...the girl with Pepsi hair, right? The hyperactive one?

[fionnuisce]

Legendary author Sei Shounagon, yes. [UNFAZED.]

[drewthetower]

[. . .]

Sure, why the fuck not. Think she'll be down to teach history once or twice for the hell of it?

[fionnuisce]

I didn't think to ask, but possibly. If you want history lessons from a universe where King Arthur is a woman, Shounagon had tri-colored hair, and god only knows what else.

[drewthetower]

[. . .]

King Arthur's a what?

[Did Waver tell him this and August just forgot?]

[fionnuisce]

Surprise, my world's fucking weird.

[drewthetower]

But then how did Mordred--wait. Do I want to know?

[fionnuisce]

She's male in recorded legend and I deliberately choose not to wonder about the truth of the matter.

[no.]

[drewthetower]

I have so many questions, Waver. So many.

[fionnuisce]

I can assure you that one was as much of a surprise to me.

[how the fuck.]

My point is, I might be able to talk her into a history lesson, but for all I know we'll end up finding out shit about Nobunaga or the Shinsengumi that no sane person would believe.

[wrong time period, and also: only a couple of them.]

[drewthetower]

Yeah, maybe not history. I don't want to deal with whatever that fallout would be.

[fionnuisce]

You and me both.

[he Does Not Want To Know]

...On a more minor point, what do we want to do about the name? I'd imagine POKEGO would sooner change it to legally and morally distance themselves from Professor Would-Be-Godslayer.

[drewthetower]

Yeah, no, and any POKEGO wings or whatever are gonna be in a separate building. Doctor Rosewood and Mikleo are fine, but the other two are dicks and I don't trust that whole organization just yet. You okay with that?

[fionnuisce]

Of course. I'm fine with accepting their help, but it's better for everyone involved if we keep the organization as a whole at arm's length.

[drewthetower]

At least until they prove they're not like fucking Willow. How much do we trust Zodiac, though?

[fionnuisce]

Shockingly little, but I'm willing to take a wait and see approach on that one as well. For all we know, hell's frozen over and whatever the rest of you did really fucked with their heads.

[drewthetower]

That one guy who seemed to recognize the whole thing from his past life said it was expected so I'm gonna trust him, but also...

[fionnuisce]

Exactly. I'm not going to assume the best case scenario right away, but I also won't say it's impossible.

[drewthetower]

Next question: who do we trust more? Because I don't like Zodiac one fucking bit, but they also haven't tried to destroy the world. Actively, anyway.

[fionnuisce]

[Metaphorical rock and a hard place, but measuring the risk came out almost equal. Almost.]

Cautiously? POKEGO. I had my doubts, but Rosewood and Mikleo alike seem sincere enough. And I don't honestly want to color the entire organization by the actions of a handful--sometimes it just isn't that simple. If I refused to engage with questionable groups just because a few members were reprehensible, I'd never accomplish anything.

[drewthetower]

True. Thinking about it, if we're working with POKEGO, Zodiac may not even touch us anyway.

[Since. Yeah.]

We're not trusting the Order at all though, agreed? Like Jusis, maybe Eunie, maybe even the cannibal chick, sure fine whatever. But the Order itself can go fuck itself.