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

If it's not real ice and more like a resin, I've say a few days just to pour it out.

[Though it could be glass? Who knows. Roxas isn't too keen on finding someone who made this while he's with Sora.]

Whatever it is, I live it.

Nah, I'm pretty sure it's real ice. I dare you to stick your tongue to it and find out.

[Sora, no. He's just kidding, though!]

.... I might like ice cream, but straight up ice is a different thing entirely.

[Which... ice cream sounds really good right now. Roxas wants some after they get out.]

I could touch it with my fingers.

[Sora snorts with laughter.]

I didn't think you'd take it seriously! I wouldn't actually want you to do that! Sure, you can touch it with your fingers!

[It's still real ice!]

I-If you went to high school with some of the people I did, you'd take it seriously, too!

[No, Roxas, you just hung out with some dumbasses. He huffs softly and shoves his hands in his pockets. No touching ice.]

Let's keep going...

[Oh. Cute. He's kinda cute when he's being a little huffy too. But Sora didn't mean to make him that way.]

I hope you have some nicer friends now, that doesn't sound very cool.

[Following the blond!]

You're pretty serious, huh?

Huh? They were nice, just normal teenagers.

[Teens are, for the most part, idiots.]

Am I? [Would he consider himself serious? Probably not?] I think I might be more nervous than serious right now...

Aw. Okay! What's there to be nervous about?

[Legit question as he tilts his head in curiosity!]

..... You're a celebrity?

[At least in streamer terms. And to Roxas.]

Aren't you nervous around famous people?

[Sora laughs with soft amusement at that one.]

Uh, I guess I am a little bit! But that doesn't mean I want people to be weird around me.

[He wants to be humble and thankful about his success on streaming. He wants to have fun! Meet people! And make friends! Don't be nervous around him!]

[.... how can someone be so genuinely sweet on and off camera? It does put Roxas at ease, taking a deep breath.]

Sorry... I just didn't expect to not only meet my favorite streamer, but to be asked to hang out, too? [He doesn't want to end up as a horror story on a stream.] I'll try and calm down...

[A thought hits him that has him turning to Sora.]

When we get out of here, can I get you something? I know they have some good hot drinks here. You're not exactly dressed warmly.

[There we go. Sora genuinely smiles at that response and he's glad they've sorted this stuff out.]

Sure, I'd really like that.

[He smiles as they continue their journey through this ice maze.]

You know, you probably know a lot about me already if you watch my streams. Maybe I could ask you a few questions about you? Because we're just two people hanging out, right?

[Still going to be a bit self-conscious, but what can Roxas do about that. If only he had someone to yell about this with later.]

Uh... sure? I don't really have anything too hide, but nothing too super personal, alright?

Nah, I'll save that for a date.

[Is he joking??? Sora laughs playfully.]

Are you in school or anything?

[A date?? Thanks. That makes Roxas stumble a bit out of shock.

ACT CALM. Even if he can't tell if that was a joke or not.]

I-I go to Kaisou University. Graphic arts major.

[That's just too funny. Sora giggles and tilts his head. He'll just keep that in his back pocket now.]

Wow! So you specialize in making awesome stuff with your computer?

I guess? I'm learning a lot of basics right now and I might minor in programming or coding, too... depends on how much time I have.

[Making the graphics and setting up the sites could be some good money. Maybe.]

That's great! Getting to make all sorts of your own stuff too! That sounds so cool. I bet you're awesome at it!

[He's love to see his work sometime, isn't that obvious?]

[Roxas hesitates before he takes his phone out. Bringing up another streamers page and their layout.]

I don't know if you've watched this guy, but I'm the one he commissioned for all his graphics. I entered an icon contest and he liked my work enough to get all of this... but that's not what I want to do as a career. Making stuff like this is more of a hobby.

[When Roxas brings out his phone Sora might just side up closer to lean over and see!]

Whoa?! That's awesome! Are you taking commissions? I could use a new upgrade!

[He's so impressed!]

This is just a hobby, though? I bet you could make a great living if you did it for a career!

[A commission from Sora? Roxas isn't sure he could make something that would be good enough, but it would be a good way to get his work out there? Decisions...]

I've thought about commissions, though I have no idea how to even advertise that.

[That makes him snort softly.]

Unless I can get into a good circle, I doubt this would get me more than pocket change.

[Sora hums and then gets a smile on his face.]

How about if we get through this maze together then I'll help you with that part. I'll throw some links out on my stream! How about it?

[So it wouldn't be Sora just giving a hand out, it would be a genuine gesture.]

[Hmm... Roxas takes a moment before he nods.]

Sure. Though I'd have to send you links.

[Tapping his chin, he has to figure out how to do that.]

I can set up an Etsy or something. I know some people use that for selling that sort of stuff. Do you have a business email, or...?

[How would he even contact Sora with all of those things?]

[Roxas put his phone number in Sora's phone earlier, right? So he takes out his phone and he texts the number with his email address too.]

There, easy! Just email me whenever you're ready, okay? Or I guess there's that weird new app everyone's using too.

[He knows he shouldn't give his information out so easily but Sora's always been trusting and Roxas seems nice.]

[So much contact with Sora... Including that new network. Roxas feels like he hit some kind of jackpot, but he knows he shouldn't abuse it of course.]

I-I will.

[Going to save that email to the contact profile real quick.]

We should hurry and get out of here then... I'm feeling kinda inspired, and I really want that hot drink to warm up with.

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