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

[Fair enough but also: seriously is Mendelson okay. August glances at Julian, who isn't paying attention. Silly bird.]

Understandable--hey, do you just know computers or is anything vaguely tech-y fair game?

[He holds up the polaroid camera.]

I found this near the house today, and it seems fine but, y'know, wanna make sure.

[Mendelson is never okay, but it's fine. His health has been in a gradual decline for years now and the additional stress of the Libra app has only made it worse.]

Oh, uhm... sure, let me take a look.

[Something to concentrate on that isn't his racing head? God, give it here. He steps forwards with his hand outstretched and takes the camera gingerly, turning it over between his fingers.]

What makes you think there might be something wrong with it..?

When I said "near the house" I meant "in my sewing room".

[So.]

It's either magic or I have a weird ass thief in the neighborhood, but I am shit at telling when shit is magic.

Oh.

[He huffs out a little puff of laughter through his nose, a tiny smile touching his lips. As far as he can see there's nothing odd about the camera. It just... looks like any old camera.]

If it's magic there's nothing immediately strange about it... [Mendelson lifts the camera up, peering through the viewfinder, but he doesn't take a photo with it. That would be impolite.]

But maybe... be careful.

[And he offers it back with an uneasy expression, shaking his head.] Strange things happening lately.

[He'll take it back with a laugh.]

Yeah, dude, story of my life. Honestly surprised it took this long for things to get this weird.

[Why is he like this.]

Anyway, seriously, you okay? You don't look so great--wait, did you forget to eat?

Mm, what?

[With his hands now unoccupied he fidgets them together for a moment then shoves them into the pockets of his coat, only to pull them free seconds later and fold his arms instead.]

I didn't forget. [He just hasn't had a proper meal in days because what is cooking for yourself when you're in constant chronic pain and you barely sleep? It's a wonder he even stays hydrated.]

I'm fine, don't worry. I should-- I should be getting back, anyway...

No, hey, look, I was gonna get me and Julian something, I can grab you something and bring it to the shop? S'no big deal, not like you haven't saved my ass a hundred times since I moved here.

That's just my job, August. You pay me to save your ass.

[Oh, god, do not perceive him. He digs his fingers into the sides of his coat and shakes his head.]

Really, it's... I'm fine, really. I don't need you to start doing me favours.

It's not a favor, it's food. [Seriously.] If you're sure though.

[Speaking of favors (sorta)]

Any luck getting Libra off your phone? ...and any luck finding the block option, because I have got to block this one asshole but I can't find it.

[... Phew.]

No, no luck. I thought I had it, at one point, but it just... appeared again. [He could swear he had removed it, but then there it was again. Mendelson chuckles, but it's a nervous-sounding noise.]

To tell you the truth, looking at it makes me nervous. If I could just remove my messages and the notification of my being on it at all I'd be happy enough.

[Mendelson are you ever not nervous?]

Dammit. So that'll be a "no" on "how to block this fucking jackass", too, huh?

You might want to consider just ignoring them.

[Bold advice from someone like Mendelson, but really the only thing that he can think to offer. He grips his left arm for a moment, digging his fingers lightly into his sleeve.]

Are you going this way? I'll walk with you. If that's all right.

[No, he is never not nervous.]

God, if only it were that easy.

[But August will nod and start walking, though slower than he was earily. It is super obvious that Mendelson is super not okay, despite what he says.]

He's that kind of jackass on the internet.

Edited 2022-03-07 15:49 (UTC)

[Mendelson smiles weakly. He could say something about it not really being that hard to ignore someone but it would be a level of hypocrisy that even he balks at. Better to just keep silent then, to let the moment pass.

He keeps pace easily enough beside August while the other walks, noticing the slower steps and feeling privately grateful for them. Recent stress has not helped his physical condition in the slightest.]

Now that I can see the app for myself I can try to look into it. [The redhead offers, tucking a few straying wisps of hair behind his ear.] If I find anything you'll be the first to know.

[Maybe.]

But I didn't see you as someone who could be bothered by someone like that.

I'm usually not! Honestly, I'm probably usually the asshole if it's not business!

[At least he's honest?]

But there is something about Shroud that just fucking gets under my skin.

[He can't help the smile that comes to his lips at August's exasperation. Mendelson doesn't think the other man is an asshole at all, but he has a pretty low bar for behaviour as far as assholes are concerned.]

Now you have me curious.

[As a general rule, Mendelson does not ask questions... but that philosophy tends to rest more in his job and not his personal life. Has he had his hands on August's tech often enough to be able to consider him a friend?]

What has he said to get you so heated?

He's just an asshole! Like, you know those guys who are assholes on the internet because they think they can get away with literally anything and no one will ever find out it's them? He is that guy times a thousand. Always purposefully taking things the wrong way to piss people off, zero interest in being anything but a raging asshole, and the worst experience I've ever had trying to tailor something for a grown ass man. I have fitted stuff for toddlers that were less of a problem.

[Okay he is probably exaggerating that last part, since all of the problems were just "super doesn't want to be here" and "does not want to be touched", but everything after that colors the actual fittings.]

[Mendelson is not the kind of person who laughs often so August would be forgiven for not recognising the sound of it at first, but his irate description of his apparent nemesis is so impassioned that he can't help himself. He laughs while they walk, only briefly, but it's definitely a laugh.]

It sounds like he knows what buttons to press to get a reaction out of you, August.

[And that's terrible, yet still funny that August does not simply ignore the person.]

I expect that's all he wants. The reaction.

I know that's all he wants! And yet. And yet I can't ignore him! At least with fucking, what's her username, redmoon or whatever, at least with her it's an actual debate! [Sometimes, anyway.] He's just...

[August just gestures.]

God. I hate him.

Edited 2022-03-20 02:29 (UTC)

[He can't help but feel a little bad for finding the level of aggravation funny... but it is a little funny, isn't it?]

Are you sure you don't enjoy the attention?

[It's a gentle kind of needling. A tease that shows his level of comfort with his current companion. He smiles a bit more as they walk together.]

Hatred is a very strong emotion.

Wow. Are you calling me an attention whore, Mendelson?

[He protests this! He may be a bit social for someone so grouchy but.]

I know, but seriously. He's awful and I want him to end up getting forced to join the Amish or something.

I would never. [Mendelson replies softly while August continues talking. Never, not at all! He wouldn't even imply such a thing.

But he won't say the entire thing isn't amusing to him.]

Think of the poor Amish, would you really want to inflict something like that on them?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

March Event Log

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