kaisou | JANUARY EVENT LOG

Entry tags:

JANUARY EVENT LOG

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: Kaisou + First Gate
WHEN: The Month of January
WHAT: January Event Log
WARNINGS: Psychological danger, death mention, noots

January Event
Dominant Element: Water
Waning Element: Fire

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After a idyllic holiday season, the full depths of winter has reached Kaisou. Throughout the month, temperatures will remain stubborn in a deep cold. Every few days, snow falls and adds a few more inches to the ever growing snowdrifts.

Winter Carnival: January 9th - 16th

The holidays may be over, but that doesn't mean this is a month without celebration! Over in Blue Fish Lake Park, Kaisou's Annual Winter Carnival is in full swing! Scattered across the snowy park, magnificent ice sculptures have been set up as part of the yearly sculpture competition. The crown jewel of the ice sculptures is an extensive ice castle maze, which visitors are welcomed to venture through. Different games and activities will be found throughout the maze, most of them typical carnival stuff like aiming snowballs at a target or answering trivia questions about snow. The prizes for completing these events range from candy to small toys to winter-themed plushies. Fun for the whole family or a date, really!

The winter carnival is more than just ice sculptures of course. A section of the lake has been set up with holes to do ice fishing, while another section is reserved for any ice skating you want to do with a ice skate rental plate included. The skateboard park has been converted into a spot for snowboarding and cross-country skiing. The park restaurant is serving lots of warm foods and drinks to help stave off the cold. Hot chocolate, funnel cake, fried cheese curds, poutine, mulled ciders, and a whole host of other items. And of course, one of the soccer fields has been converted into a full on battlefield for snowball fights. Build a fort and trench and hunker down, it's gonna be a long war.

However the most famous part of the carnival is the medallion hunt. Every year, the Winter Carnival medallion is hidden somewhere in the city. Traditionally, the person who finds the medallion will be rewarded $10,000 (if a group finds it, the prize is split among the group). With a prize like that, it's no wonder so many people try to find it. However as the festival draws to a close halfway through the month, there's still no sign of the medallion. You'd think with this many people looking, it'd turn up by now. Right?

Penguin Resolve

Remember that question about New Years Resolutions on the network a few days ago? Seems like it was more than just an icebreaker question. Throughout the month whenever you're doing an action related to your resolution, you will be sporadically visited by a group of penguins. If you're keeping to your resolution? This group of penguins will cheer you on, clapping their wings and rewarding you with fresh fish. If you're breaking your resolution, the penguins will be quite displeased and begin to throw snowballs at you until you apologize or try to amend your behavior. Didn't make a resolution? Don't think you'll get off easy. The penguins will then act as your lifecoach and try to push you into doing what THEY think you need to do to improve your life. Go run some laps, call your mother more, catch some fish -- it's a new year so it's time for a new you!

When the penguins are satisfied with your progress, they will waddle on to find the next person to check on. Any attempts to harm the penguins will magically fail, and likely result in more snowballs being thrown at you.

Helheim: The Frozen Hell

On January 17th, a new message from Zodiac is sent out.

SHIFTING GATE IDENTIFIED IN KAMI STATE PARK.
Element Classification: Water
Danger Level: B, Environmental and Psychological Hazards
Designation: Helheim
A new shifting gate has been located in Kami State Park. It's been linked to the freezing of at least four civilians. If you plan to investigate, bring winter clothing and means to defend yourself. You will be compensated if you bring the plant Hel's Bramble to the Zodiac office in Undertown. Supplies necessary for gathering will be loaned upon request.

Going to the Zodiac Office will yield only an little additional information from the customer service representative. A potentially dangerous gate to the Spirit Realm has been identified in Kami State Park. It's been linked with the freezing of at least four civilians who stumbled across it. Zodiac won't force anyone to go, but if you decide to investigate it yourself to see if you can figure out what's going on or gather resources for them? They'd be happy to compensate you with a generous sum of money. A bag's worth of Hel's bramble, a type of plant found in this particular realm, will yield about a week's worth of pay at a full time job - with an even higher bonus if you deal with the source of the gate's appearance. For those of you who need supplies for a dangerous mission, Zodiac is willing to loan some out to you, with an understanding that they should be returned once the mission is complete. Weapons made of silver and/or spirit tree wood, infused with elemental energy. There's a variety to choose from, so characters can pick whatever type of weapon they'd be most comfortable with.

Once one is geared up and ready to go (or you skip visiting Zodiac altogether), it's off to the park. When you arrive, the Libra app will act as a navigator, leading the way. Deep in the forest and near a pond, a large stone gate stands erect. This gate was never here before this week, anyone whose been to this park before can verify that. A deep cold emanates from the glowing portal that stands open within the gate. Around the portal, you can find the four civilians the text messaged mentioned; all thoroughly encased in ice. Studying them it'll look like it was a group of male hikers somewhere in their twenties, all who look like they were in personal anguish as they froze.

Once inside the gate, you'll find yourself in a completely different landscape. A frozen and desolate landscape, with a cold so sharp it cuts through the bone. It's a dreary land, with no sign of sunlight and a persistent veil of fog. Scattered across the landscape are more frozen figures, but these ones appear much older with clothes and braided hairstyles that indicate the Viking era. All of them appear to have spent their final moments in torment and agony. In the distance, characters can make out an impossibly large tree, one so large that it'd dwarf the skyscrapers of Kaisou. You cannot see the top of the tree, as it's grown so high that it vanishes in the foggy clouds above. Built into the tree is an entire city's worth of buildings, all of which stand empty and falling into ruin. Habitant wise, there's almost nothing but flocks of ravens that fly around the scenery. You get the sense they are watching you, as if it was their duty. And if you weren't feeling watched enough, on one of the tree's large branches sits a bird-like creature the size of a ten-story building. It watches over this land, monitoring for any disturbances. Harming the ravens will draw its attention further, and continuing to do so will eventually cause the large bird to spread its wings and swoop in for an attack. Be warned, trying to fight it would be nothing short of suicide.

Thickets of Hel's Bramble can be found scattered around this desolate landscape, overgrown and wild with no one around to tend it. It's a tough plant, only harvestable by using elemental powers or an enchanted blade (better hope you stopped by Zodiac). Touching it without any gloves will result in pain from the sharp thorns, and prolong contact could cause painful rashes and potential poisoning. Eating it is definitely not recommended. The thickets become more plentiful the deeper you go into the realm, so if you want to get that bag full as Zodiac requested, you'll won't be able to loiter around the entrance. Best that you be dressed for the cold, as the persistent cold and icy winds could prove deadly if you went in unprepared.

However the characters will soon discover it's not the cold or the Hel's Brambles that are the real threat of this realm. On occasion, the fog will condense and play out echoes of one's past regrets and sins, from this life and the one before. Anywhere from a great atrocity to an embarrassing moment you hate to think about. They are visible to anyone around and have sound, the words holding a distant echo to them. Even memories that you have yet to recall are fair game to the fog, adding an extra level of confusion and distress to the situation. These echoes don't last long, but they appear frequently enough that they can torment a soul if one lets them. But the more someone gets lost in the echoes, the deeper the realm's chill will become. An unfortunate soul who gets too lost in them will have ice start to form on their body, as the realm attempts to entrap them here forever.

The Valkyrie

If one makes it halfway to the tree, they'll hear a woman's voice, calling out in a haunting melody that's being carried on the wind. Following it will lead them to the city built into a tree. Most of the buildings have been abandoned and are in total ruin, much like most of this realm, save for a single light that's flickering from the city's arena. Inside the arena is a winged woman with full battle Viking battle garb: a Valkyrie. You best prepare for a fight before you get too close to her, as that's exactly what you'll get. She does not speak, but draws her scythe and lunges in for an attack. With superhuman speed and strength, she's a formidable foe. She unleashes brutal ice attacks and even her feathers can cut flesh. It'll take skill, determination, and teamwork to bring her down.

Nothing short of a fatal blow will stop her onslaught. Should one managed, she'll choke out a single word of gratitude, before disappearing into light. On the ground where she fell is the medallion from the Winter Carnival. After her defeat, the conditions of the realm will become less severe, making it easier to gather any Hel's Bramble you wish to collect.

Aftermath

With the Valkyrie defeated, the gate to the Spirit Realm will close by January 31st. The four civilians will be thawed out, still alive but with no memory of what happened to them. Interestingly, anyone who pays attention to police reports might notice a missing persons report of a woman in her early twenties who went missing around the same time as the gate's appearance. There's been no leads on her case.

Zodiac will pay for up to four bags of Hel's Bramble, for those who want to spend that much time harvesting. Failure to return their loaned out weapons will result in being sent a bill of $2000 and a mild curse so anyone who uses your name will call you "THIEF" instead. The curse will last until either pay your bill or set up a payment plan with their office. Returning the weapon after this point will get the bill reduced down to $500 (a late fee, they explain). As for the medallion, you're welcome to turn it in-- but since you found it well after the carnival ended- that grand prize has been reduced down to $100 and a free meal voucher to the Cheesecake Factory to anyone who helped find the medallion (aka fought the Valkyrie). Great!

OOC Notes

The dominant element this month is water! Anyone with an affinity to the water 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 fire 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.

Any fights or interactions with NPCs will be handled by the players! Feel free to thread out things however you'd like! If you have any questions, please ask them on the plot questions thread below!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I - the helper monkey cannot be stopped
[Rean can be found all throughout the winter carnival, helping out at just about every attraction at one point or another. He can regularly be seen carting things between locations, as well as answering questions and pointing people in the proper direction. Sometimes all of the above at the same time.

He looks tired, but there's a sparkle to his eyes during all of this that can't be ignored. Although, speaking of his eyes... eyes don't normally come in that color, do they? Anyone who knew Rean before will note that his eyes are now a light shade of lavender that they definitely weren't before, and also note that he's wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses.

If anyone comes up to him during all of this, he's quick to pipe up.]

Hey there! Anything I can help you with?

II - off to the races
[It's rare that Rean's not in class or volunteering during the carnival, but if he isn't, he's definitely nearby the snowboarding setup. His gear doesn't look like any of the rental gear, so he must have brought it from home.

He'll grin at anyone who happens to be nearby.]

Have you ever done this before? It's been forever since I've had the chance.

III - fish overload
[As far as the penguins are concerned, Rean has been doing a phenomenal job with his admittedly very basic resolution this year. He's been all over the place and talking to so many people that it's really not surprising.

What is surprising is that they keep clapping excitedly— which, to begin with, Rean didn't even know penguins could clap, but it's certainly a thing that's happening at him right now— and offering him fish.]

Um... thank you...?

[At this point, Rean has accumulated at least a bucket full of fish, and adds the newest fish to the bucket. As soon as the penguins waddle off, he stares at the bucket with no small amount of concern.]

What on earth am I even supposed to do with this...?

IV - it's protag time
[Unlike probably many of the others, Rean does not go to Zodiac to borrow a weapon. Because unlike probably many of the others, Rean has been blessed with a tachi that fell from the sky.

Rean probably should be concerned about this, because weapons should not be dropping from the sky, but there's just something about it that feels right. This is his.

So, when Zodiac calls upon them to go harvesting in Helheim, Rean jumps at the call, and after bundling up to accommodate the more severe weather there, goes right on in.

At the very least, he has stopped to survey his surroundings before continuing in too far, although how much of this is actual strategizing and how much is awe is up for debate, especially when he speaks up.]

I can hardly believe this is real...

V - wildcard
[Reply with a prompt of your own and I'm more than happy to play along! If you want to plot something up, hit me up at

needlemouse or needlemouse#1681 on Discord!]

Cook 'em?

[August, thankfully, has been avoiding most of the penguins!

Most of them. There's two or three who are stubborn and are harassing him until he stops to talk to people for some reason. Whatever.]

I know a few recipes.

[Oh! That had mostly been a rhetorical question, but someone actually answered! Look at that.]

Yeah, see... even if I thought I could pull that off, my dorm doesn't exactly have a kitchen in it. Just a microwave in the common area.

I'm pretty sure trying to cook them that way would get half the dorm trying to murder me in my sleep.

Oooh, yeah.

[Hm.]

Bribe someone with the promise of really good paella? Because the family recipe is damn good paella.

I'm not sure I know anyone to bribe offhand—

Oh, hey, you have a family recipe for paella, too? My mom makes a great one.

"Lemme use the stove and you can have some of this food". Easy, especially for college kids like us.

[Seriously. Food is gold.]

Especially if it's "fancy". [Yes, he does the air quotes.] But yeah, Cat's side does. No prawns or shellfish, but chorizo and saffron, enough garlic to actually say it has garlic in it, and whatever the hell is in the "Villareal spice mix". I'm pretty sure it's just fancy paprika.

I mean, I know how to bribe someone. The harder part is finding someone with a kitchen.

[But then August is going on, and—]

Wait, wait, slow down. "Villareal spice mix?" Did I hear that right?

[His mother had mentioned him having a cousin in the city, but there's no way, right? He must have misheard. It cannot possibly have been this easy to just stumble into an extended family member.]

Yeah? Why?

That's the same thing my mom uses in hers.

[He wants to rub the back of his head awkwardly, it's a tic of his, but... hands covered in fish. Not the best move.]

[. . .

And digging out his phone to text Cat....]

What's your mom's name? I need to harass my aunt.

Rean Schwarzer | Normal Modern AU

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