kaisou | 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

It cannot be helped. [He doubted any of them knew what to expect here. Not even the local fauna which raised all sorts of red flags.

On the left... He nodded, putting his trust in Waver that he would stay close. He'd be protected regardless.]

Understood. [Said re-infusing his cartridges and preparing to cover his eyes.]

On your mark.

[This was going to suck. It already did, and he'd felt the air heating up around him for the past minute. Just as well; he was going to need to rely on that right now.]

Here goes nothing-!

[Waver threw the vial where he'd indicated, and it exploded on impact with a burst of magical energy and light that sent the Heartless scattering and disoriented. And, in a flash of fire was a small orange bird in Waver's place--taking right off in the direction indicated.]

One of these days I'm going to learn to see a message about a gate and say, 'you know what, what if I simply stay the fuck out of trouble this time'-

[And here Takame was concerned about Waver's mobility. He took off running in the same direction Waver went, blade still drawn and eyes uncovered to watch their backs.

Retreat didn't mean they wouldn't be pursued.]

I've been told I attract trouble regardless of where I go, nor am I able to ignore it. [That's what heroes did, they helped people. Little did it sink in for him that no he's doing this cause he wants to.]

I have been told I am a magnet for problems-! [He slowed enough to be sure Takame was beside him, trailing long tailfeathers and an exasperated voice.]

Of course I don't fucking learn-

'Tis difficult to ignore the danger to other people. [Does he mean himself or Waver? Yes. Takame just wasn't a tsundere about it.

Looking back in the direction they ran he saw the light from the flash bang had since faded. It wouldn't be long till the rabble reorganized.]

They may pursue us.

I vote we get the hell out of this forest for now. Neither of us is equipped to deal with this.

Agreed.

[If that's the case he'll at least put the Gunblade away. However it's in doing that the stress starts to hit him like a freight train and...

With that stress came stumbling feet where two became four that he fell upon, continuing his run through a rather drastic full shift into a modestly sized outright dragon with the same old scales he's always had. But somehow still running through sheer force of will and...

Well, hey Waver you ever heard Takame swear REALLY HARD?]

Fucking hells...!

[ever seen a bird look so fucking befuddled that it nearly forgets to flap its wings]

[Right, retreating. Priorities, Waver.]

You too, huh?

Mm. It was only a matter of time.

[With his luck and the fact that he'd already grown extra scales and claws to boot.]

I assumed my control would be better. [At least it was enough to move.]

It's always the damn stress that gets me. Come on, we'll talk once we lose these damn things.

Yes. I cut through those strange flowers on my way here. If we're cautious the ones surrounding it should not affect us.

[Indeed, meeting the edge of the forest in the distance shows a wide path of either burned or sliced red poppies that met their end at Takame's hand. For once he had foresight.]

[Looking back to be sure they weren't followed out once they reached the edge of the forest and vaguely relative safety, Waver fluttered down to perch on Takame's back and let out an exhausted sigh in a flicker of flame.]

You're not hurt, are you?

No, I'm not. [His pride was but as far as being hurt it was a few scratches he barely felt.

He sighed himself, frustrated and wanting it to be quieter but it's harder to subdue something like that when you're not used to a snout.]

Are you alright?

I'm okay--thanks for the backup. This should wear off for the pair of us once we've had a minute to calm down, that's usually how it works for me.

Think nothing of it. [He'd heard from Amal that stress and the Spirit Realm were more likely to have these things trigger. But he hated not having the control of his emotions. Or rather, he hated that the control he lost was so apparent now.

Not made any better by being combat useless again.]

I'm sorry I couldn't be of more use. [Another sigh.] What in the world were those things?

Don't worry about it. Not like I was much help myself. [He fluttered off of Takame to the ground, ruffling his feathers in embarrassed frustration.]

As for what, no idea. Something more magic than mundane, at least in construction--it's not too often I come across something that's completely unaffected by physical attacks, but it's not impossible.

[He was quiet for a moment, recalling something from the blur that was a few months ago.]

In March I encountered that Banshee in the Fae Realm that I couldn't cut through. But these things didn't feel the same. It was as though nothing was there when I tried.

[The Banshee had a presence at least, but Takame was out of his element here. He had the sense for magic but not the words.]

It's not unheard of. Faeries are said to exist outside of time and space, for one thing. For another, the more magic something contains the harder it is for mortal means to reach it in any way that matters.

These creatures weren't Fae. I cannot accurately explain it, but they were different. Not fully an essence of Shadow based magic such as an elemental, nor akin to a ghost.

[A huff of breath, annoyed. He shook his head.]

It... makes me uneasy not knowing.

June Event Log

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