kaisou | March Event Log

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March Event Log

March Event
Dominant Element: Wind
Waning Element: Earth

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It's as they say, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. The early part of March will be blistery and cold, with strong winds and chilly nights. But as the month goes on, the weather will slowly warm and the snow will melt. By the end of the month, it's well into the early spring and the plants already begin to green up once more.

First Signs of Green

With Valentine's over and done with, there's only one thing that everyone's looking forward to, and that's the arrival of spring. Shops in town are stocking themselves up with new outfits for spring and outdoor furniture. The garden shops are stocks with flower seeds and spring vegetables, preparing for the warm weather to finally come rolling in. Many restaurants will be having a special on Bara Brith (malt loaf) and Cawl (lamb stew), in honor of St. David's day earlier in the month as it's trendy this year. On warmer days, people will be finding just about any excuse to be outside and the streets will be busy with people. Enjoy some much needed sunlight everyone!

For adults looking for activities to do, with the upcoming St. Paddy's day, plenty of bars are doing their own promotional celebrations. Most of these are the standard kind of fanfare, where you get a discount if you wear green or there's beer that's been dyed green. Though there's a few quirkier promotions, such as the Deathmatch bar offering free beer for everyone until someone uses the bathroom. Work together to hold the line and your bladders.

Gacha Day

Throughout the month, there's talk in Undertown about being on the lookout for good fortune. On the surface it sounds like the usual fanfare you hear from gossip - someone reblogged a lucky cat photo and came upon some money. Or someone found a four leaf clover and won the grand prize in the raffle. It's easy enough for the more skeptical to dismiss. However for those who are on the look out for lucky signs may find themselves also being blessed by good fortune. A brand new TV will appear in their house, or they'll befriend a new animal friend, or they'll discover they have a new ability. There's no rhyme or reason for what good luck will befall you, but these lucky occurrences seem to have shortly after seeing an omen of good luck. And granted...some of these occurrences might be hard to perceive as lucky. Some may even be downright cursed.

Still! Maybe it's time to keep a closer eye on any patches of clovers you come across, huh?

The Dulahan

The night of March 15th is an usually foggy night. There's an eerie stillness to the world, and the wind that blows with an unnatural chill. Even the normal citizens in town feel a sense of unease, as people rush to get home. As for those more sensitive, you can't help but get a feeling of dread in your stomach. Animals too may seem unsettled, not unlike when they sense an earthquake.

It's late in the night when he shows himself, long after the streets have grown quiet. A horseman riding a horse as black as night, with his own head missing from atop his shoulders. One hand holds onto the reins of his horse, while the other carries the severed head of a woman. He trots through the misty streets of Kaisou, occasionally pausing in front of a place of residences and pointing towards those who dwell inside, before continuing on his way. If you attempt to confront him in the street, he will disappear in a sea of mist and reappear further down the road, focused on his task. Repeated attempts to confront him will eventually enough irritation that he'll pull out a whip made from human spines. Being hit by this whip will render them unconscious until morning.

It's not clear until morning what the Dulahan was after, but when the first rays of morning come through, the horror will sink in. Every person that the Dulahan singled out? Is now missing from the city - whisked away into the Spirit Realm.

New Gate: Tír na nóg

The following morning, March 16th, a new message from Zodiac is sent out

ALERT: SHIFTING GATE IDENTIFIED IN BRICK ALLEY.
Element Classification: Unknown
Danger Level: S
Designation: Tír na nóg
ALERT! A highly dangerous gate has been discovered in Brick Alley. It's already been linked to disappearances across the city. Zodiac is currently investigating but we ask all available people to help investigate and recover the missing people. Please visit the Zodiac office for any supplies. Use caution when engaging with denizens in the realm.

Going to the Zodiac Office, you will find that it's a lot busier than normal. Several Zodiac employees are coming in and out, talking and using tech as they try to sort out the scale of what they're dealing with. Professor Willow is there too, there to help with consultation. According to him, it's a Dulahan that was spotted last night- though his own information is limited to what's known in popular myths. His specialty is more on animals found within the spirit realm, not mythological figures. Notably, it seems he's managed to befriend a Meltan from last month's gate.

Zodiac will supply weapons made from iron, as well as packs of food. If you press them for more information, they will suggest not to give your name or consume any food while within the spirit gate. If you need motivation than saving your friends to help, Zodiac is more than willing to pay you for your services. As for the location of the spirit gate, they will mention that it might be a little hard to spot this time, so keep your eyes peeled!

Hard to spot will turn out to be an apt description. When they arrive in Brick Alley, there's no obvious standing tall gate as there were the previous two months. Instead, they will have to search around until they find a circle of mushrooms that have popped up on a patch of grass. These mushrooms are impervious to harm, and you'll have to stand in the center of them if you want to enter the realm. It'll take a moment or two to activate, leaving you feel a little awkward as normal people pass by and stare at you standing in a circle of mushrooms, but hold fast, because soon you'll find yourself warped into another realm.

The landscape of Tír na nóg is beautiful, looking like it came out of the pages of a fairy tale. Golden sunlight washes over lush meadows and forests ahead of you. Behind you, are tall rocky cliffs that drop down into the raging sea below. In the distance, there is a castle that stands on higher cliffs and looks like the only place of civilization in this realm. If there's any spot where the kidnapped folks are being held, it's there. You must travel through a long winding path through the forest in order to reach it. The forest is full of wildlife that's more like Earth's, but you can't but get that feeling that you're being watched. You better hope that you ate before you left or brought food of your own, because the trek takes long enough that the unprepared may find themselves feeling famished by the time they make it to the castle.

When they reach the castle, they will find the place guarded by several Fae guards along with a couple mythical beasts. They will allow entry, but only if they leave behind any iron they have on their person. If you agree to do so, they will be rather welcoming, offering refreshments for any weary travelers. Curiously, if you inquire about the other people that were brought here, the fae will seem to be of the belief that the people they're talking about have been guests at the castle longer than they've been missing, by several days in fact. What in the world is going on?

As for those who act with more hostility, well: prepare for a fight. The fae would prefer to talk things out, but they aren't afraid throw down arms when faced with violence. What more, they wield much stronger magic than anything the characters currently have. Don't be surprised to see yourself be turned into a small animal for your troubles. Only apologizing to the fae or leaving the spirit realm will reverse the effects.

Waking up at the Castle

Those who were kidnapped by the Dulahan will wake up to find themselves in much nicer accommodations than you'd expect for being kidnapped. You wake up in your own personal guestroom in soft beds. Fae attendants will come in to check on your needs, checking if everything is to your liking while any requests to go home seem to fall on deaf ears. While this place is much more medieval in terms of technology, they seem determined to make your stay as comfortable as possible. You are even allowed to leave your rooms to wander the halls to see others in their guest rooms, though for a least the first morning they block you from leaving the guest wing. It should also be noted that anything made of iron has been removed from your person.

At midday on that first day, the kidnapped characters will be invited down to the main hall of the castle for a grand feast. Any type of food you could possibly desire, as well as foods you've never heard of, are laid across the giant banquet table. The fae are friendly and more than curious to learn about their new "guests", asking personal questions and encouraging them to eat up. The fae themselves come in all shapes and sizes. Some look like classic fairies while others more otherworldly appearance. It's only when they've made sure enough of their new guests have eaten and shared their names do the head of the fae announce their reason for bringing you to their realm: they could sense something special about you, and have decided to have you joined the fae. It's been a long time since they've had anyone bolster their ranks after all.

After this announcement, the fae will allow the guests to travel where they wish. You can explore the realm or spend time with the fae as you like. However if anyone who ate the food or gave their name will find that even if they reach the gate, they won't be able to use it to get back to Kaisou. For now, you're stuck in the spirit realm.

Life among the Fae

One thing will become obvious when the kidnapped meet up with their would-be rescuers: time flows differently in this realm. A single day in Kaisou is several days in Tír na nóg. By the time the would-be rescuers have found the people they were looking for, several days have passed - more than enough time for the kidnapped to explore and experience this realm on their own. The fae themselves aren't too concerned about the new arrivals, and will treat them as guests as well. It's not like they have a way to ESCAPE after all. Though just like those kidnapped- any who share their name or eat the food will also find themselves stuck in the spirit realm. Whoops.

The fae are friendly and playful race. While they rarely give a straight answer, they enjoy playing games and hearing stories about places outside the realm. Some of their games include riddles, fishing, or playing with balls made of sheer gold. However, their good nature will quickly sour if you do anything to cross them. Attempting to cheat, steal, or honestly any perceived slight against them may result in you getting cursed with magic. This magic will either turn you partly or fully into an animal, depending on the severity of their rage. Though at the same time, getting endearing yourself too much to the fae may also end in your body getting changed, with them deciding to "bless you" by granting you fae-like features.

It's not just the fae you need to be wary of. A popular dish among the court is called the "Fish of Knowledge". It's a type of salmon that admittedly tastes extremely good. However anyone who consumes it will find it having an effect on their memories. AU characters may find all their AU memories getting swapped for the memories of their canon counterpart, now even more lost and confused to what's going on here. Otherwise, characters from other worlds (and any AU characters that rather go this route) will find themselves becoming an expert in a random field of study. Never went to medical school? Doesn't matter, you now have a PhD worth of medical knowledge in your head, or any other subject that you feel apt.

The Rescue

As much as the Fae want to keep their new friends, it's not like you guys can actually stay forever. Eventually, they'll be able to strike a deal with the leaders of the Fae. If they can retrieve the head that the Dulahan carries and bring it to Gwenffrwd well atop the mountain (there's murmurings among the court whether it's ACTUALLY a mountain, this seems to be a contentious opinion), everyone will be allowed to leave the realm. They'll even be nice enough to give back your iron weapons for this quest -- once you leave the castle grounds, that is.

Finding the Dulahan will take some work, as he wanders the bogs of Tír na nóg. These bogs are treacherous, where taking the wrong step could lead you to fall under the murky waters. No matter the time of day, it's dark and gloomy in these spots. Will-o'-the-wisps appear as lights floating over the bog, intent on leading people off the path. Undead skeletons are also found in these bogs, and they are more than happy to try to get you to join their undead horde. When you do finally find the Dulahan, you'll have to be careful to make sure he doesn't run off before you can grab that head. Not only that, but his power is stronger now that he's in the Spirit Realm, meaning his attacks might do more than just knock you out for awhile. Teamwork is likely your best option here.

Once you have retrieved the severed head (which is the real severed head of a woman, wonderful), it's time to go up the mountain(?)! Away from the bog, the path up the mountain(?) is winding but straightforward, but it'll turn out about three-fourths up the mountain there is one teensy little detail the fae left out. And that detail being that the path to the well is being guarded by a large, fire breathing, red dragon. It seems some fae have even gathered around to spectate the whole encounter, because who are they to turn down free entertainment?

Good luck guys!

If you manage to find a way past the dragon, then the rest of the trip to the well is pretty straightforward. Drop the head into the waters of the well, and there'll be a glow of magic. All characters, regardless of if they ate the fae food, will be allowed to come and go from this realm as they wish.

Aftermath

While for those trapped in the realm, it'll feel like they were there for a month -- once they return to Kaisou they will find they were only gone for 1 IC week (the 15th to the 22nd). You're welcome to deal with the consequences with work or school that'd happen for being missing for a week, though if you rather not then you'll find that Zodiac stepped in and was able to give believable excuses for your absences. It's uh, a little unnerving how good they are at handling explaining people disappearing, honestly

Any knowledge or memories that your character gained from eating the fish will disappear, becoming fuzzier and fuzzier until it's hard to recall anything they learned. As for any animal/fae features they received from Fae magic, it is optional whether or not they will stick around for any amount of time.

For the rest of the month, characters are allowed to come and go into Tír na nóg as they wish. The fae will be sad that you won't be staying with them forever, but they are still happy for your company. With the crisis averted, Zodiac will once again offer paid incentives to bring back items from the realm. Those gold balls in particular are of interest to them, but don't let the fae catch you thieving. And per usual, there'll be penalties for anyone who doesn't return the items that Zodiac loaned out.

OOC Notes

The dominant element this month is wind! Anyone with an affinity to the wind 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 earth 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.

Memories gained by eating the fish will not remain, but characters are welcome to retain any animal features. If they were turned fully into an animal, they'll find they are now able to shift between human and animal form. Nice! (EDIT: Details on the feature have been elaborated on here.)

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! The original OOC plotting post for this event can be found here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Waking Up At the Castle - ota]

[Ugh, looks like Bruno's prediction was right. Her memory's a little fuzzy, but she distinctly remembers seeing a headless man carrying a woman's head pointing at her through Casita's window. It kept her up for most of the night, but she must've fell asleep because she's here now...

... Where is here?

She's in a comfortable-looking guestroom, sitting on a soft bed. She's still in her nightgown, and ventures out, stepping out into the castle hallway. She wanders around a bit, looking for anyone familiar - or anything familiar really.]

Um... hello...?

[Life Among the Fae - ota]

[It starts to sink in that Mirabel isn't going home anytime soon. She tries to make herself comfortable - she's dressed in clothes that the fae gave her, instead of her usual nightgown. But she'd really like to go home, and her attempts to go home are blocked each time.

Eventually, she ends up ticking off a fae by arguing with her about going home. While Mirabel loses the argument, she fails to notice as she walks away from the fae guard that she's grown a wolf-like tail.]

Ugh, everyone here is so unreasonable! I just want to go home!

[She storms through the castle, angry and a little afraid that she can't go home. But it gets worse - there's a pair of wolf-like ears in place of her usual ears. There's fur growing around her neck, and she has a small wolf-like nose. She stops, not realizing what has happened to her yet...]

Did it get warmer in here...?

[Rescue - locked to Luisa]

[Mirabel tagged along with the rescue group - even though she can't really do much of anything. By now, she's noticed her wolf-like changes, and while she's deeply unhappy about it, she still wants to help in some way - she needs to get her mom home after all! And herself! She'll do what she can, even if it means trekking through this disgusting... bog.

She ends up not being very much help - everyone in the rescue group is a little more capable of taking on the Dulahan than her, all she can do is hang back and watch. Every once in a while she directed out of the way while others take on the fighting...

Of course she's in the way. She eventually gives up and goes looking for her sister, Luisa, who she spotted with the rest of the group earlier. It's been a while since she's seen her though... she searches for her, getting further and further away from the main rescue group.

Except that up ahead, there's an actual dragon guarding the path ahead. A huge, actually real dragon. Like in the stories.

Before Mirabel can even process this, she notices something else - her sister, alone, fighting off the dragon. Or well, trying to. Mirabel watches in horror as the giant creature advances on her.]

Luisa!

[She starts to run to her.]

[The Aftermath - locked to Casita residents/visitors]

[She's made it home. It was hard to explain the bloody clothes, but eventually Mirabel was allowed to go back to her room.

But Mirabel's been quiet ever since she's gotten home. She doesn't mention why - only keeping to herself. Her wolf changes haven't gone away, if anything it's worse now and she's been trying to avoid most of her family out of fear of what she looks like. But she has even bigger problems than that. Both her and Luisa do - and she's helpless to do anything about it.

It's my fault. It's all my fault.

Her heart tightens in her chest. Everything went wrong, everything...

She can be found in her room, you'd think she'd have a lot to say about her adventure in being kidnapped, but she just... doesn't have that much to say. There is one question that remains in her mind:

Why is she so tired?]

Edited 2022-03-05 02:54 (UTC)

[Zelos had gone to track down the people who were kidnapped, hoping to find the few people he knew among them. He quickly grew to realize it was a lot easier to get around if the fae thought you were one of them, so he's got his wings out. Which ironically, despite how bright they were, it made sure the fae didn't really give him so much of a second glance.

Eventually he spots Mirabel. He never met her in person, but he recognized the photos. So he's fast approaching]

Mirabel-- [And when she's close enough, he also notices how much more furry she looks]

-- Whoa.

[Mirabel only recognizes Zelos by his icon from the group chat, but it even takes her a moment to recognize him at all, her giving him a look of "how do you know me?" before she realizes the answers.]

You're... Zelos? -Wait, what's "whoa"?

[She feels like something's off, and out of the corner of her eye she catches something... fuzzy. She feels around her neck, and it's all fur.]

What's going on?!

[Oh good she recognizes him. He gives a nod]

In the flesh.

[But yeah more important is the fact she's currently part dog.]

Not sure, you look, uh, part dog? [thanks Zelos that helps] -- Heard the fae can do tricks like that, did you piss one off?

Part dog?!

[Her voice comes out high-pitched. She feels all over her body - long ears, a little dog nose, is that a tail?!]

Oh no, oh no no no, I can't go home like this! All I did was argue with one because they were being unreasonable about me going home but-!

Edited 2022-03-05 22:04 (UTC)

Well I mean, I'm pretty sure we can't leave you here either.

[Her family would kill him?? He already died once lets not repeat that!]

I dunno- maybe try apologizing to see if they'll turn you back? I really don't know much about fae magic.

Mirabel Madrigal | Encanto | Open and closed prompts

Life among fae

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Aftermath prequel - to Bruno and Luisa

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Rescue

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CW blood

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Wakey Wakey

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aftermath

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