kaisou | June Event Log

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June Event Log

June Event
Dominant Element: Light
Waning Element: Shadow

Full Moon: June 2nd - June 4th

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Summer is here! Gone are the dark nights of May, with the daylight hours stretching until pretty late. The weather is hot, but not unbearably so. This is the kind of weather that one would call "idyllic summer". Those who have lived in Kaisou awhile will know June is the summer month with the best weather, so it's best to enjoy it while you can. And if you are out after the sun has finally set, they will get to enjoy the Spirit Vein at it's most dazzling. The dominance of light element causes the vein to glow brilliantly with all sorts of colors on the visible spectrum, making it appear like an ever changing rainbow that lights up the night.

Time for Pride

The city is brought to life with the warmer weather. Residents will find outdoor seating and eating areas bustling and active as everyone comes out to enjoy the summer and socialize with their friends and family. The park is full of live plays and concerts, with people staying out later to enjoy the shorter nights and the beauty of the Spirit Vein. There's plenty to see and do for those who want to explore the city this month.

Though most of the school campuses are closed for the season, Cygnus Academy and its associated PICHU program has opened its doors. Something of a community college, Cygnus offers a wide range of classes, both mundane and supernatural for residents to apply for. Meanwhile, the PICHU program within the academy specializes in preparing and training residents for encounters within the Spirit Realm.

The city is awash with pride decorations and parties, along with a parade going through the town. Not to be outdone, The Vogue has a month-long pride celebration, including cocktails and party nights, queer-centric musical productions and capping off with a drag race competition for all who wish to enter- with a promised cash prize of $5,000 for the winner!

Cleansing Water

Remember how the flowers were blooming everywhere last month and people weren't concerned? Well, that trend has continued, with flowers blooming everywhere. But now it's not just the flowers that are being affected. Lawns that were mowed just a few days ago look like they've never been cut, ivies are spreading across buildings in a matter of a few days, and their vines are growing thick enough for someone to climb up them. And trees? While it normally takes years for a tree to grow, the trees around Kaisou are growing a couple inches a day, and at heights larger than what they normally should be. If you have a lawn or garden to maintain, you're going to have your work cut out for you, though you can expect some bountiful harvests if you're growing fruit or vegetables. Normal people, meanwhile, don't seem to notice there's anything strange about how the plants are growing, treating it like it's entirely normal to mow their yard once or twice a week.

Meanwhile, those who drink bottled water might notice there's a new brand being sold in different spots throughout the city. Cleansing Spring is the label on the bottle, with a picture of a fountain. For the most part, it seems like any other bottled water you find out there. However, should you take a drink from the water, you will find yourself forgetting memories. How much you forget will depend how much you drink. A single sip will make you lose a few select memories, while downing the bottle will make you forget everything. It's certainly alarming, to say the least. On the bright side, Bubu Pharmacy and vendors in Undertown sell special teas that will undo the memory loss symptoms. Though for some, their memories seem to remain permanently altered...

Just who would be making bottled water with this kind of effect? Looking into the information on the labels will reveal it's all fake information, so that's certainly suspicious.

[OOC note: If you wish to change details about your AU or have your character forget certain memories, you can do so using the water. Please comment here with information on what you are changing. That said, this cannot be used on a Black Order character to have them leave the Order - as the Order will still remember them even if they've forgotten the Order. ]

Tornado Alert

On the evening of the 5th, despite it not being the proper weather conditions for it, ominous looking storm clouds will form over Kaisou. Those with cloud reading capability will be able to deduce quickly that these are some tornadic clouds The concerns are only concerned when the dreaded tornado siren begin to ring out throughout Kaisou. Best to take shelter where you can.

The tornado will rip through the center of the city. Fortunately the damage is relatively minimal for most buildings, but the civic center gets hit rather hard with the tornado tearing through it before disappearing back into the sky where it came. Anyone who was reckless enough to go look at the tornado for themselves would swear they'd seen various folks and what not flying through it, including a witch on a broomstick. But that's insane, right?

The next morning, the damage will be surveyed. The civic center is wrecked enough to postpone the anime convention until next month, but fortunately there were no casualties. No one at first can seem to make sense where this singular freak tornado came from, until Zodiac gives an alert on everyone's phones.

ALERT: SPIRIT REALM GATE DETECTED IN THE CIVIC CENTER.
Element Classification: Light
Danger Level: Unknown
Designation: Oz
Zodiac has detected a Spirit Gate within the Civic Center. We have confirmation that it was connected with last night's tornado, and we have been reached out to by residents of the gate for a request of assistance. Please visit the Zodiac offices for more information.

If you head to the Zodiac offices, the place seems to be rather busy. As usual there's Zodiac staff that are busy at work, as well as the fuzzy professor who is set up at his own puppet sized help desk on top of the Zodiac help desk. Seemingly in a gesture of goodwill, Zodiac decided to build him his own special spot. Should you ask the Professor what he thinks about the realm, he'll talk about how everyone's heard of Oz, but before this whole Spirit Realm nonsense he always thought the story was meant to be an allegory for early 20th century politics. Which, if you allow him, he'll give a very interesting (but ultimately, pointless) lecture about that.

The Zodiac staff and the Professor aren't the only ones in the office however. There is also a pair of three extremely short men in very colorful clothing holding massive lollipops. It'll be explained that these three are representatives from the Lollipop Guild of Munchkin Land. (It is not explained what the point of a Lollipop Guild is.) As it turns out, the Munchkins have been having trouble lately. The Kalidahs, dangerous beasts that usually keeps to their forests, have been rampaging and causing damage to their city. So they need help with both repair efforts, and dealing whatever's causing the Kalidahs to rampage. In exchange, the representatives offer to have a great standing within the Lollipop Guild ... whatever use that'll be. Zodiac will quickly follow up with offering payment for their assistance.

Now armed with all the information (and some of it useful), it's time to head to the gate. The gate is found within the wrecked civic center. You'll have to sneak past the barricades that have been put up by emergency services to get into the building and head to the main area of the center. Within the big hall, instead of a normal gate, they will find a small brown farmhouse that's been dropped inside the building. Once you head inside the house, the tornado will reappear within the civic center. This time, it picks up the house with you inside. If you look out the window while this happens, you'll see a number of folks calmly flying through the tornado like it's completely normal to travel by tornado. Eventually, though, the spinning of the tornado will get to be too much. Most will either pass out, or get knocked out by flying objects within the house. Those who do manage to stay awake will eventually feel the house crash to the ground once more.

We Welcome You to Munchkin Land

When the house finally makes its landing, those that have lost consciousness will wake up once more. Opening the door to the farmhouse reveals a bright and colorful landscape; a breathtaking sight compared to the dusty browns and greys of the farmhouse and twister. Everything is so vivid and picturesque, it feels like stepping out into a painting rather than a living, breathing world. However, a closer inspection of this dazzling world reveals that all is not as picture-perfect as it initially appeared. Many of the houses are damaged, if not outright destroyed, and it looks as if several dozen bears (or maybe just a lot of heavy machinery?) tore through this place.

As they look around, a young woman in a white dress with red poppies in her hair approaches with a smile. She introduces herself as Princess Ozma, the rightful ruler of Oz. She thanks the app users for agreeing to help and explains the problem: a day or two ago, a massive herd of monsters called "Kalidahs"-- vicious beasts with a tiger's head, bear's body, and lion's claws-- tore through Oz, leaving this destruction in their wake. She has requested help from "the other side of the rainbow", as, historically speaking, it's never not worked out for them when someone from there steps in.

If asked about the rest of Oz, Ozma will assure everyone that the rest of the land is being taken care of thanks to their friends. Munchkin Land just has a few other issues that require outside assistance. She explains that, on top of the destruction in the towns and farms, the Kalidahs are still running wild throughout Munchkin Land and nobody seems to know why. They normally stay in the dark woods of Oz, so this is extremely abnormal and very concerning.

Seems like they all have quite the work cut out for them.

For those who wish to focus on rebuilding and helping the residents of Munchkin Land, Ozma will direct them to a sort of makeshift headquarters in the center of Munchkin Land. There, another young girl in blue and white gingham will introduce herself as Dorothy Gale, Princess of Oz (not to be confused with Princess Ozma), and promptly hand out blue armbands to the helpers. This will mark them as friendly helpers to the residents, as some of them are on edge and wary. Given that the last tornado most of them remember resulted in a house coming down on someone's head, it's understandable.

Dorothy will direct helpers to some problem areas that desperately need some help.

Mending the Yellow Brick Road: This is the biggest concern, as without the Yellow Brick Road in working order, supplies and travelers from the Emerald City can't reach Munchkin Land. If people will help carry, lay, and test the bricks, that would be wonderful! They'll be rewarded with free lunch.
Rebuilding Houses: The second biggest concern is housing. At least half of the houses in the city were destroyed by the Kalidahs, and already the residents are tired and stressed out from having to sleep in tents and cots. There's plenty of work to be found gathering up usable supplies, and if you're especially gifted in art or architecture you could possibly even help with the redesign of the houses. Just make sure to take the residents' wishes into account!
Humanitarian Work: Maybe you're not particularly helpful with all this construction work. If that's the case, Dorothy and Ozma will assign you to help dish out food for the volunteers and Munchkins, work in the first aid tents, or otherwise do things to help the Munchkins not feel like their world's come to an end. Once the Yellow Brick Road is repaired and supplies start coming in, you can help organize those as well.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

While rebuilding is important, it's equally important to make sure they don't get attacked again. If you're a bit more inclined towards fighting, or would just like to help with the Kalidah problem, Ozma will direct you to the last place Kalidahs were spotted. If the characters follow the Yellow Brick Road until it goes through the forest, and then pivot to the north - it will take them to where the Kalidah usually reside.

The Munchkins will wave you off with a cheer, glad that they have some heroes about to save them from their newest trouble. Before you go, Ozma will give one last suggestion: if you aren't made of metal, straw, or anything else inorganic, you should maybe get something to help with your breathing. What could that be about?

Eh, it's probably nothing. So you begins your journey down the Yellow Brick Road. It's quite a long trip, but the landscape continues to be stunning. Eventually though, you'll run into a large field of red poppies! As beautiful as they are, they will start to put anyone who needs to breathe to sleep. If you have a mask of some sort, that will help, but your best bet is to just book it or get someone who doesn't need to breathe to help you across. Freezing, burning, or otherwise killing the poppies will also work, but make sure to keep it controlled!

Dealing with the Kalidah

Once everyone is past the field of poppies and have shaken off their drowsiness, you'll reach a deep, dark forest that looks like it came straight out of a horror story. No light makes it through the giant, dark trees and the only sound is the wind and the occasional growl. If you keep following the Yellow Brick Road, eventually you'll get past this to Emerald City. However, for those looking for the Kalidah and their nest, this is your stop.

As soon as you're out of the sight of the Yellow Brick Road, several massive creatures melt out of the shadows. These are the Kalidahs, terrifying chimeras that can easily destroy houses and more. Think fast!

If you choose to run from the Kalidah and go deeper into the forest, they will chase after you for awhile before you reach a certain point where the Kalidah --who supposedly live in these woods--shy and flee away. As you catch your breath, you'll notice the air feels oddly heavy and not like the air in the rest of Oz, either. As you look around, you could swear you see within the shadow pairs of yellow eyes appearing and looking directly at you.

Those who choose to fight will have a tough battle, as Kalidahs are no pushovers. However just when the battle is starting to shift in your favor and you're about ready to fell the beast, a Shadowy monster with yellow eyes will leap from the shadow and jump onto the Kalidah. With a swipe of the claw, the monster will pull the heart of the Kalidah from its chest and absorb it. The Kalidah will vanish into shadows, and from the shadow another shadowy monster will form.

Well. Shit.

Hearts of Darkness

As it turns out, the reason the Kalidah have been in such a state was because their forest has been overrun with a new monster that's never been seen in Oz before. These monsters come in all shapes and sizes. They are not only dangerous in their own right, but come in numbers that could easily overwhelm a single fighter (in other words, DO NOT attempt this alone). They also seem immune to normal weapons, only getting affected by magic and enchanted weapons. Light is most effective, though most of the other elements will do. The only one who seems to have barely any effect is Shadow, due to them being made from Shadow ... sorry guys, it's really not your month.

Needless to say, these monsters will need to be cleared out before they can cause even worse damage to Oz. Go deep enough, and you'll find where these things came from. In a clearing in the forest, there is a dimensional tear that has opened up where the monsters are coming from. As you try to get close to it, a massive monster that stands a good 15 feet tall will show itself, guarding the gate with its batons that can alight with flame. You'll need to work together to beat this thing if you want access to that tear.

Once it's defeated, it'll be a matter of sealing the tear. Those who were around back in August, Black Order members, and POKEGO staff will be familiar with the spell. If none of those are around, you can text Zodiac on the Libra app, and anyone with magic proficiency will be able to follow their step-by-step. Essentially, it's a complicated incantation that takes about 3 minutes to cast, and requires holy water or similarly-blessed items. Once it's completed, the tear will be sealed away, and it'll just be a matter of dealing with any shadowy monsters that still remain in this world.

The Emerald City

After all is said and done, after the remaining Kalidah are herded back to their forests and the damage from their attacks is fixed up, Ozma invites everyone back to the Emerald City with her and Dorothy for a celebration. Everyone is whisked away and brought to the shining city of green, where there is food and drinks enough for everyone. The representatives of the Lollipop Guild (still no idea what that's about) are there, as are people from the other lands around the Emerald City. Dorothy is eager to introduce the app users to her friends, and her little dog too.

If the partying isn't much your speed, there are some other things to do in the City. There's plenty of wondrous sights to see, from the lavish royal gardens to fascinating horse of a different color held in the royal stables, and even a few interesting shops. There's a spa open to all guests and residents of the Emerald City, though they unfortunately cannot dye your eyes to match your gown.

However, not everyone is completely off duty. The Black Order members will do well to remember that they still have a mission of their own, dealing with the memory-erasing bottled waters. Tracing the magic within the water and asking around, they will find that the source of that water is coming from Oz. Or, more specifically, from the Forbidden Fountain in the Royal Palace of the Emerald City. Rumor has it that anyone who drinks from this fountain will lose their memories, and if anyone is bold enough to try it, they will find their memories getting completely wiped. So who in their right mind would be bottling this water to sell?

If they stake out the fountain, during the dead of night when no one will around, they will get their answer. A human man will come out from the shadows and start bottling the water. If you confront him, he's easy to take down, but he'll immediately start trying to talk his way out of it. As it turns out, he used to be a resident of Kaisou - a rather notorious con man within paranormal circles known for peddling fake cures and dangerous scams, regardless of who it harms. Last fall, he managed to slip through a tear into Oz after he was trying to escape punishment from a con involving tricking people into believing he was Jesus by turning Kaisou's water supply into wine. Upon pressing, he seems to hold no remorse about any of his acts. In fact, his entire plan seemed to be another hair-brained scheme to try to get people back in Kaisou to forget his identity, so he can go back to his old stomping ground and con them again.

You have your orders, and it's clear this man is a repeat offender. Just what will you do?

Aftermath

As the party eventually starts to wind down, Ozma gathers all of the guests and once again thanks them for their assistance in stopping the Kalidah rampage and fixing the tear but now it's time for everyone to go home. With a wave of her hand, everyone's shoes suddenly become magical, glittering a striking ruby red color in the light of the city. Or maybe they're silver? No, wait, they're definitely red, no, that's silver--

Color debates aside, Ozma explains that all one has to do in order to get home is click their heels three times while saying "there's no place like home". Should they wish to come back while the gate is open, they simply have to click their heels three more times and say "I want to go to Oz", and they will find themselves teleporting straight back into Munchkin Land - no tornado required.

Back in Kaisou, the Pride and summer celebrations continue on. The Anime Convention will sadly have to be delayed until next month, but that just means you have more time to work on your cosplays. However, there is still the troubling matter of the tear and the mysterious monsters that appeared in Oz. Zodiac will express their own concerns about it, and say they will look into the matter. Guess you got no choice but to wait to see what they come up with.

OOC Notes

The dominant element this month is Light! Anyone with an affinity to the light 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 Shadow 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.

Characters will be allowed to keep their shiny new slippers and they can be used to easily go back and forth into Oz throughout the month! However once the month ends and the Spirit Gate closes, the shoes will lose all power.

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ far as he knows, Jun is great at socializing. He made friends with him immediately, right? He has no actual idea that jun's strong point isn't being a social butterfly.

ignorance is bliss ]

You think so? I'll use that to keep my spirits up.
I'm just drawing different coloured... uh. Dandelions. That's it.

[ time to continue blobbing the world's puffiest flowers. they're all red. ]

You were an Art Major? Not surprising, given you seem a natural at this.
Did you change your focus, though?

....Aren't dandelions yellow?

[He isn't surprised by Vash's choice of colors, but yeah sure going to point it out]

Less a natural and more had a lot of practice- [As artistry goes]

And yeah. I still like art, but I realized I wasn't passionate enough to make a career from it. Part of why I'm studying under POKEGO right now is to help me figure out what I want to do instead.

Dandelions can come in like. A. Burnt orange. Colour. So.

I'm adding a bit of ... artsy. Interpretation.
Lighting.

[ he has no idea what he's talking about. He's lifting his head to look at Jun. ]

Hey, sometimes the destination on your ticket to the future can change. That's why it's blank in the first place.
You're still young, yeah?
You can change a dozen more times till you find something good for yourself.

I'd like to do that, too.

[He snorts a little]

Sure. They're dandelions with a red light on them.

[He'll humor that much at least, even though Vash is BSing to see what sticks]

Hehe, I like when you put it that way. I suppose the journey is the more important part anyway.

And I'm sure you could. I mean, aren't you already doing that by being here?

See, we're in perfect sync. Agreement.

[ time to try to ... make some shapely leaves. For someone who's so graceful with a gun, he draws like he's never held a paintbrush in his life. ]

The journey is always the fun part, isn't it? The destination is the fun part, but the memories along the way are always the loudest.

...And you're right.
I have no idea when this world might grab me up and toss me home.
So I wanna experience as much as I can until then.

Something like that.

[He quirks the corner of his lip as he looks again at Vash's painting skills. If the munchkins ask...maybe he can say a kid helped him paint it. Not a 150 year old man.]

Mm. That's true...we never know when the Isekais will leave. [Which can be a real issue sometimes]

But you seem to be making the most of things! Lots of people seem to know you, so I assume you get out a lot.

[ he's a big kid in a lot of ways, so it works. probably. ]

I'm guessing you've at least seen a few leave? Like that person who owned the garden I live on now. [ ...he shamefully doesn't remember his name.
Time to draw some grass. ]

I like it here.
In Kaisou, even the worlds that open up and Libra ask us to investigate into. I'm sure they're still up to something, but.
Ever since I first got here, I haven't had to sleep more than a few hours every night.
So I've absolutely been getting out a lot.

If I sit still for too long I get antsy.

Zagreus, yes. And a few others.

[He won't list all their names, that'd take too long. But Zag is important to mention considering whose home Vash is living in

But huh, one bit of what he says strikes Jun as a little odd.]

You haven't had to sleep more than a few hours every night? As in..you need less sleep than you did back home?

Zagreus, that's right. I can't forget that name. [ you know, just in case he ever came back, and he had to thank him for having such a beautiful garden. ]

And yeah, yeah! That's exactly it.
Like, if I want to roll over and take an additional hour or two, I can, but.
For a long time now I can just. Sleep for two, three hours, then be up and active as if I've slept a whole night.

I might not be human and theres things I can survive a time without, but. Sleep isn't one of them.

You'd like him, he's a very friendly guy. And he has three headed dog that's quite sweet once he gets to know you.

[Sure Cerberus may be the legendary guard of the Underworld, but he's still a good dog]

Huh...

I've heard of people who could survive on less sleep than most. Paranormal type people. Maybe you somehow picked up the ability.

Three headed dog? Okay, now that sounds cool.

[ vash believes it's a good dog. jun didn't mention its size. so vash is just imagining a three headed golden retriever before he shakes himself out of his thoughtcloud. ]

Hm. Paranormal type, huh.
I guess it could be just like that. Like how Libra got dragon wings... out of nowhere.

...
I bet it was that cursed store again.

Mm, Cerberus is a very cool dog. I was quite fond of him.

[Cerberus is the GOODEST of boys ok!!!]

Yeah. "It just be like that" seems to be a common thing with abilities popping up in this city.

...I'm sure that store isn't entirely to blame for it.

Oh??? Did Zagreus have the dog here, too?

[ he supposes it must have gone back with him...

he goes back to painting.

his grass is at least pretty good. line, line, line, line... ]

Maybe not entirely, but it definitely messed up a few things.

...

But Nico did get a pretty rad motorcycle from it, so...
it's not all bad.

[ oh wait. He remembers something...! he grins up at Jun, suddenly. ]

Hold out your hand.

Yeah, he showed up sometime after Zagreus did. They were clearly very close.

[Just a boy and his dog, besides the fact that boy was a god and the dog was the guardian of the underworld]

A motorcycle huh? I didn't know you guys ride those.

[He learned a new fact! But Vash's request will get jun to blink owlish once or twice, before he will obliged]

What is it?

That's cute... big dogs are cute.

[ but he's shuffling in, putting his paintbrush down--hands up, to cup Jun's hand with his own two. ]

I can't ride it to save my life. I'm terrible at driving. Wolfwood is good at it, though...

[ ...and as he talks, a little cluster of red geraniums bloom in the palm of Jun's hand. ]

Mm, they are. I think you would've liked him.

[Vash seems to like most things, after all]

Ha, I'm the same way. Teleporting is easier than driving...

[But oh what's this? Jun looks at them for a second, but is quick to recognize them for what they are]

Oh, your geraniums? They finally bloomed?

[ it's true, there's very few things he doesn't like, so long as they aren't hurting people. ]

I can't teleport either, but I'm really used to just. Walking everywhere, so. I enjoy it better than driving.

[ and he looks up at Jun as he guesses that the flower is from the garden. It isn't a bad guess, but...

Vash brings his hand up, curling his fingers a little--as more red geranium blossoms bloom from his fingers, slowly, one by one. ]

The ones in the garden are blooming fine, yeah, but.
I also ... learned how to do this.

[ !!!

Anything he was going to say about the walking or teleporting gets sidelined when Vash makes flowers with his hand. Holy crap]

You learned how to do the flower trick! That's incredible, Vash!

[ Heheheh. He looks pleased as punch as Jun exclaims his surprise and realisation. Trying so hard--and partway failing--at looking smug as he wiggles his fingers at him. ]

I'm not really sure... how, I've been interested in magic but I haven't gone out of my way to learn any.
But I somehow just. Realised I could.

[Look Vash you may be a dork but Jun still thinks this is cool. WIth the shock passing, he'll go to smiling]

Ha, sometimes it happens that way.

I'm impressed though! [Holding up the germanium] I'll have to press this flower to preserve it.

--Haha.
Turning that around on me, huh??

[ he grins--he grins so wide, he feels like it's gonna split his face, with how pleased he feels. Curling his fingers in as the little blooms he'd made on his fingers retreat back to oblivion from where they'd come. ]

Still can't teleport like you can, though.

Of course! You went through all that effort to preserve my lily, it'd be rude to not do the same.

[He's going to carefully store it away in one of his pockets, just so he can do that]

Ha...yeah, that's probably for the best. You wouldn't want to teleport into a wall.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

June Event Log

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