June Event Log

[kaisoumods]

June Event
Dominant Element: Light
Waning Element: Shadow

Full Moon: June 2nd - June 4th

※
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.

Comments

[prontissimo]

[ Alberto grins brightly — what are the chances! Luca's explanation makes sense to him but there are still some general gaps in his understanding that he's been steadily bridging the past few months. The sweet but sus magic on Valentine's Day sparked a lot of introspection about the nature of friendship, the definition of romance, and a lot of grappling on just where Luca and Alberto fall between the two. He's learned a lot and continues to learn even more, already leaps and bounds just being in this festival today, but growing up in such isolation with a single father who never explained things like love and attraction and partnership to him... he's quite a few steps behind Luca and their friends in how he's processing all this. So there's a hint of that familiar blankness behind his smile when Alberto doesn't fully understand something that's been said, but wants to seem in the know. He stays quiet. He's... so close, though. ]

Beh— lead the way. Anywhere we go will be fun today, ha! I can tell.

[ He ties his MLM flag around his neck, draping it over his shoulders like a cape — and then drapes his arm around Luca's shoulders as they set off, a bounce in his step even as he tries his best to match Luca's gait to walk comfortably together. So many people here seem to be holding hands, walking arm-in-arm, holding each other around the waists — people of all genders and combinations — and he can glean at least that much definitely fits the vibes here. Openly affectionate body language is totally up his alley, natural and comfortable. They've been getting steadily more and more touchy-feely in little ways like that for a while now (not that they ever weren't touchy-feely in little ways like that!), but the difference is in being more deliberate about it lately. It comes like second-nature, always, but the recent intention behind finding small excuses to touch Luca is somehow more exhilarating than ever before. Alberto likened it to Luz once as feeling like 'jellyfish in your belly but in a good way' — which... just continues to prove true. He feels that 'jellyfish' feeling now, for sure, and throws a fond smile Luca's way beside him, keeping his arm wrapped around him as they walk in stride back toward the thick of the parade. ]

[schoolingfish]

[Luca puts his arm around Alberto's shoulders as well, returning the gesture. For a moment, he giddily wonders if everyone around them will assume they're boyfriends. Then he wonders if they are boyfriends, because they never officially said anything about that, but he feels...he should probably ask Alberto sometime. Just to clarify. Although that should probably be asked somewhere quieter.]

This way! I hear music, so something must be going on!

[prontissimo]

[ Alberto's smile is stuck on his face walking side-by-side with Luca, excited to be having yet another seemingly profound Human Experience together. As they venture deeper into the crowds, the music grows louder, and Alberto turns to Luca again with eyes alight when he presses them on. ]

Yeah, haha!

[ He lets go of Luca as they head off toward the hubbub, but quickly grabs his hand as they reach a crowd of people gathered round. He shoots Luca another bright smile, gives his hand a little squeeze in anticipation of whatever exciting thing they're about to jump into — but then... he doesn't make the jump. He hesitates, locking eyes with Luca a second longer, smiling still, but an odd softness to his look. Then, Alberto lets go of Luca once more, only to rearrange their hands so that their fingers are tightly laced, throws him another, even brighter smile, then pushes them on through the throng together to see what's going on. ]

[schoolingfish]

[Luca looks back, smiling as well, moving with Alberto to weave their fingers together before they go through the crowd. It seems like there's some kind of performance on a stage, something with music and fancy outfits. Luca's not sure what it is, but it seems interesting.]

[prontissimo]

[ Alberto keeps their hands linked as he pushes them both forward through the crowd, determined to get up to the front and see what's going on. By the time they're that far up, close enough to see the stage clearly, they're in the thick of the throng, pressed close against each other — a-and against several other strangers. Alberto keeps their fingers laced the whole time, every now and again giving Luca's hand a little squeeze or stroking his thumb reassuringly. Once they find themselves watching the early beginnings of a spirited drag number, though, the rest of the crowd all seem to melt away into the background, the queen on stage stealing everyone's attention. Alberto is transfixed immediately, not realizing she's lip-syncing for quite a while... He's never heard this song, but man, is she nailing it, he can tell! He laughs and nudges Luca every time she pulls a silly shticky move, like flapping her wings like a little bluebird. When she hits and holds (as far as he knows) her longest high note, his grin grows even wider, and he glances at Luca again to quietly share their excitement, trusting he's just as enamored and enchanted as Alberto is.

They can both relate to these lyrics so much. After so much time spent bored, lonely, longing, against all odds they found each other, based on one bold move after another, each of them taking risks tit for tat just to keep daydreaming together. But they made their dreams real — with all the nuance and disappointment and differences that making dreams real always comes with. Things have changed so much since leaving Portorosso, and their life together is so stable compared to anything they'd ever dreamed up — and yet so, so much more unbelievable. Different, indeed, always different than they'd imagined. But it's never boring. They're living the dream still in so many large ways. Life hasn't been perfect in Kaisou, not like Alberto had felt it was this time last year, but with Luca still by his side, it's always gonna be perfect by default. Luca's the reason he's standing here at all. Maybe the universe wouldn't have burped him up here if he'd not left his island when he had, maybe he was in the right place at the right time — to be spirited away to the United States sixty years in the future... Even that, he's still giving Luca credit for; they each opened the whole world for one another — all the worlds, apparently. It all comes back to Luca. And he's still here — here. Beside Alberto in stinkin' Kaisou. Marveling at even more amazing human things than they ever could've fathomed back home. Over a year living in a human city even crazier than Genova; the dangers they faced in Portorosso pale in comparison to the things they've experienced here. But none of it's driven them apart. They're closer than ever, in ways they could've never been in back in Italy if life had just continued on as normal... But that's not their style, life just continuing on as normal. They're always raising the bar for themselves, pretty permanently land dwellers now. They're finding their space in the human world — or else making it themselves. It's totally worth all the times they've almost died — the many, many times they've almost died... They've found their stride in the chaos together. All for the love of taking one crazy risk after another — because all those risks earn them happy moments like this.

Alberto feels himself choking up when the performance reaches its crescendo, overwhelmed with emotion. When the backup singers start in, Alberto lets go of Luca's hand, and instead wraps his arm around his waist. He turns and smiles at him as the song comes to a close, locking eyes fondly for a long moment. The MC calls the audience for a round of applause, and Alberto can't resist whooping and hollering, of course. So he just beams at Luca and bumps into him playfully, then turns his attention back to the stage, cupping his free hand to his mouth and cheering the queen off the stage with the rest of the parade goers, while pulling Luca in closer to him. ]

Whoohoooooo! Yeah!! Bravissima, bravissima!

[schoolingfish]

[Luca loves the show. The singing (which he hasn't realized is lip syncing), the dancing, the performative nature of it all...it's amazing. When he feels Alberto's arm around him, Luca reaches his own arm around Alberto, giving a slight squeeze. When the song draws to a close, he returns Alberto's gaze and smile, until the announcement draws his attention back to the stage.]

Wooo! That was amazing!

[prontissimo]

[ Just as the boys are blown away by the first performance, the show just gets even more exciting. As the queen leaves the stage, the applause only abates for a slight moment, before an ensemble of dancers and then three drag queens all make their entrance. It's so much more spirited and modern than the first song, so immediately the energy in the audience skyrockets. It's so overwhelming, it's contagious. As the performers dance and strut in harmony, Alberto's doesn't even know where to look... He's equally transfixed by the backup dancers, even though he feels like he should be focusing on the queens. He glances at Luca, strangely bashful, and just keeps his arm tight around his waist, turning his attention back to the stage. Still no idea the queens are lip-syncing — still no idea the queens are men... But the crowd's energy follows the beat, until they hit the crescendo after a couple minutes and the performance ends — a short but intense number. The MC takes the stage again, and after some fanfare and a few cheeky jokes (which go over Alberto's head...), they start to list some of the pride festival's remaining event schedule and other such important details, keeping the crowd informed. Alberto kind of tunes out at this point, preferring to wander and stumble into whatever amazing new thing they happen to find — like this.

He bumps his hip into Luca's to get his attention, then tilts his head back to beckon him to move on. The show was fascinating, but there's part of Alberto that's also feeling a little claustrophobic — he's never been in a crowd of people before... Not like that. The closest was right after the race in Portorosso, and that was— a little more than unnerving... So as much as he enjoyed this, he's keen to get out of the crowd of humans. As they set off again, he lets go of Luca's waist, but grabs his hand once more, lacing their fingers as he had before. On their way through the crowd, he notices a lot of people — presumably couples — standing the way he and Luca had been standing, arms wrapped around each other, close, happy-looking... And a lot of them men and other boys, to boot. It's nice to notice; between that and being so transfixed by the backup dancers, plus the ever-increasing electric feeling every time he and Luca touch like this lately, it brings to mind what Luca had been saying earlier about 'boys who likes boys...' Hmmm... A lightbulb in Alberto's mind starts flickering on... Once they make it to the edge of the crowd, back into the street, Alberto turns to face Luca excitedly, eyes alight, reaching out to hold both his hands now, literally bouncing with excitement. ]

Luca, that was incredible! Ahah! Wow! That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen!

[schoolingfish]

[Luca watches the show with rapt attention, his own arm still wrapped around Alberto the entire time. When the show ends and Alberto bumps his hip against Luca's own, Luca glances over to him to see where he wants to go to next. Of course, Luca has more experience with having people around, but even he, used to his quiet farming village, wasn't used to this much of a crowd, so he welcomes the idea of going somewhere else that might have a bit more space to move. Even if the show was amazing enough that he wouldn't entirely mind sticking around to see if another one started up.]

It was! Their costumes were so bright and pretty, and the music was amazing!

[He follows along, eager to see what they might come across next.]

[prontissimo]

[ Alberto beams even wider, spinning halfway round dreamily, as if almost faint from excitement, theatrically throwing his arms open — though he keeps one hand in Luca's. ]

And the dancing! The everything!

[ He sighs exaggeratedly, turning his smile back on Luca. He laces their fingers once more, and sets off gently leading him along, following the same direction as some of the rest of the dissipating crowd. Who knows what's next? He's eager to press on and see even more of the parade route. He keeps close to Luca as they walk, slightly swinging their hands together. ]

Luca, this is the coolest human holiday ever, haha! And Luz said people celebrate Pride for a whole month?!

[schoolingfish]

Wow, that's great! That means we can do this tomorrow and the next day and the next day, until the month is over!

[It's official, June is the best month ever!]

[prontissimo]

Haha, yeah! Do you think there'll be a festival every day? No— ...Right? Nooo, haha~

[ Surely not! Of course not. ...Pretty sure not! Look at Alberto go, look how far he's come...! Disbelieving himself and his wild imagination — trusting his own sense of logic... He knows enough by now that that's prooobably pretty implausible, a month-long festival. Though a parade every single day for a whole month would be amazing. He's in good spirits, a starry-eyed, goofy mood now. He keeps idly swinging their hands, grinning nonstop, gawking all around them at the other parade-goers with a dreamy look — but his eyes light up every time he glances at Luca beside him. ]

Y'know what, though— Every day should be a Pride day. I mean, being proud is a great thing!

[ Yeah, yeah, Alberto, we all know you feel that way... But then he throws a curve ball. He gives Luca's hand a little squeeze, bumping into him teasingly, turning to him with a warm smile. ]

Especially if it's about being proud of someone else — like I'm proud of you. Heh~

[ And he is! He's been trying to drop little lines like that more often in the past couple months, ever since Valentine's Day when he had to really chew on the idea of whether or not he's explicit enough with verbalizing his actual feelings... He's not, decidedly. So he's trying it out. Just saying stuff like that outright more often, big compliments and small ones alike. With how many couples and throuples he's seen around today, the recurring theme of love and acceptance, it seems to him it's largely about showing pride in your loved ones, not just yourself. He definitely brags about Luca almost as much as he brags about himself...! Maybe the scales should tip a little more, though. ]