UN: Zodiac | Happy July!

[kaisoumods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: Libra App
WHEN: July 1st
WHAT: Zodiac Network Post
WARNINGS: None!

[As June comes to an end, so comes the heavy rains and thunder that indicates the arrival of the water element month. You can't see the spirit vein through the thick clouds and deluge of water, but it's shifted into shades of blues. Everyone's devices will emit a soothing wind chime sound as a new Zodiac post appears. The chime will sound even if you have your phone turned off or on silent, and will not stop until you read their messsage and comment to it.]


Fidelio and Basilio have left the app.

[The post then continues on.]

Hello and thank you for using the Libra app.

Happy July everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful Pride season and a good summer so far! I myself had a wonderful month, as I decided to take some time off - which is the real reason for my absence! [It was not, she was in the office every day] All and all, I'd say it was a wonderful start to the summer!

Anyway, enough about me- time for some announcements! The Kaisou Anime Convention will be happening at the Civic Center this weekend! The convention will be taking place every weekend, and there will be several family friendly panels sponsored by Zodiac- so dress up like your favorite ninjas and animes and check it out!

Also, this friday please come check out the firework show in Blue Fish Park! Zodiac is one of the many sponsors and we're excited to light up the night sky for the holiday! Please don't let the weather forecasts of heavy downpours all weekend be enough to discourage you! You gotta try to think positive after all!

Well, that's all for now! Try to stay dry and have a wonderful week!

[Note, no matter how much positive thinking you do, the firework show will definitely be rained out]


This post is sponsored by the Papa's Omniria! Try out our special Starlight Spangled donuts today!

[Users will have the option to choose their own display names and userpics if they haven't already. If nothing is chosen, the app will use their real name and a quick photo taken of them from their camera's phone.

Please note that there will be no city log this month, with the next event log being posted on the 15th. As such, players are free to make their own posts and mingles regarding city events. If you want more details on what's happening the city this month, it can be found here.

If you haven't responded to AC, you still have until 11:59am EST today to do so! Once you do, you'll be removed from this post. ]

Comments

[life_ethereal]

[He's a cat! He's gotta tease the dog!!! He doesn't have a fox to tease anymore!]

I like to call them "grill bros." They kinda fall into the same category as "tech bros." Lots of toxic masculinity that's seasoned to taste with misogyny.

[Now THAT'S a spicy hot take right there, Harumasa.]

Yeah, kind of. We knew each other through the Proxy. Ugh, lemme see, do I remember the whole thing....

Hollow Special Operations Section 6, Executive Officer Asaba Harumasa reporting in~!

Nowhere near as impressive as Chief Hoshimi or Deputy Chief Tsukishiro introducing themselves, I'm sure.

[paraselenic]

So there is a term for it. These 'grill bros' do seem to exude those exact traits.

[Harumasa beat him to the real hot take...he truly must up his game. But when the man introduces himself in such a formal way, with his title as well as some...coworkers? He'll just pull up his Notes app to jot down the following:

Anby
Asaba Harumasa
Chief Hoshimi
Deputy Chief Tsukishiro

He has a feeling this list is going to grow.]

You did wonderfully, Mr. Harumasa--You sounded very official just now. Do you save that formality for when you need to smooth talk your way out of trouble?

[This is him trying to joke.]

[life_ethereal]

Right? It really suits them.

[The joke lands, at least! It helps that Harumasa's easy.]

Guilty! Though, I try to leave that tactic to professionals such as yourself, Mr. Lycaon~ You make it sound so much more convincing and smooth than if it comes from me!

[paraselenic]

[Quick update to that: Anby Demara. But he'll now focus back on the conversation.]

A tactic? That would require me to get into trouble, Mr. Harumasa. Are you saying I might have a hidden troublemaker side?

[life_ethereal]

I'd put money on you having a mischievous side, certainly~ I'd even bet you were a terror as a kid and mellowed out as you grew older. You could say I'm familiar with the type.

Not that I think it's a bad thing, of course. I think that makes you more charming~

[Teehee! He's only kidding. Probably. Maybe.]

1/2

[paraselenic]

[There is a brief pause, flustered a little by the text on his screen.

For one, Harumasa is incredibly good at reading people, as he did have a wilder side when he was young. That pause does nothing to hide it.]

2/2

[paraselenic]

[Two, Harumasa's real power is his words. He finds himself a bit taken aback by the compliments that he hovers over the keys trying to reconcile such flirtatious words.

He's just--this is a tactic, isn't it.]

Your powers of flattery are noteworthy yourself, Mr. Harumasa. I'm impressed how much you threw me off balance.

While I do strive to be dignified, I'm nothing out of the ordinary.

[life_ethereal]

[Harumasa isn't one to give idle compliments, either. If they're not somewhat backhanded, then they're sincere.

... But he's also not immune to being complimented in turn. He never expects them.]

Why, thank you~

[He feels like he should say something a little more sincerely kind.]

Nothing wrong with that. Maybe in some ways, people will find you extraordinary even if you don't agree with the sentiment. In my opinion, Lycaon is Lycaon and I think that's all you ever need to be, regardless of your past.

And, just from this brief conversation, I can definitively say that I like who the present Lycaon is~

[paraselenic]

[He can't run from that sort of sincerity...

Despite that mildly threatening tilda, Lycaon smiles back at the screen, eyes softening. This man who knows so much about him from a previous era already saying that he enjoys the present version of himself? It's a bit uplifting, a bit flattering, and it gives him such a cozy feeling inside.

Perhaps the shoes aren't as big to fill as he thought.]

Thank you, Mr. Harumasa. With all this new information I'd contemplated if I was a shadow of my previous life. But as long as who I am now is wanted in this world, then I will be myself and let the memories come to me naturally. And if it's not too bold to say, I've enjoyed speaking with you as well.

[They must've known each other quite well, huh?]

I like this post 👍

[life_ethereal]

[Harumasa just has emotional intelligence and is unfortunately too perceptive for his own good. More than that, though, he... empathizes with what Lycaon says. Although it's less that he thinks of being a shadow of himself and more like—

"What's wrong with me, Belle?"

—he knows the other side of that coin.]

I think that's a healthy way to handle it! We won't be a shadow as long as we keep moving forward relentlessly into that uncertain future.

Aww, I'm flattered! I don't think it's too bold to say. And given how crazy our past lives were in New Eridu, it only feels right to support each other when we can.

[paraselenic]

[The magic of technology masking any other cues is powerful. Lycaon can only take Harumasa's words as they are. But if he knew, Harumasa, you would be getting so many comforting shoulder pats!]

You're right. And who we are right now is a reflection of who we were back then. Kindness transcends lifetimes, in my opinion.

Though...hearing that our past life was chaotic doesn't seem to ease any nerves. New Eridu is the place we were from?

[He'll just slowly add that into his notes app]

[life_ethereal]

[He's a silly little frail guy and he's fine! He's fine....]

Here, here~!

That's right. The last bastion of humanity. It's safe to say that our world was very small. Kind of a downer saying it like that, but there were still parts that were good and full of joy.

I'd say that if you have questions about what all went down or how to process it, I'm good to talk to. The others I won't speak for since that's their choice.

[paraselenic]

[Daijoubu janai de shou...]

Last Bastion of humanity...so that does answer the question of what happened to the..'old' Eridu.

[It feels like this is prickling at the edges of his brain. This familiar vocabulary that seems to be pricking him like a burr.]

I think it would help, at some point. Even just the situation might reveal something important about myself.

[life_ethereal]

[Harumasa pauses for only a moment at that.]

From what I remember, a lot of us were survivors of the fall of the Old Capital. I still don't remember much about what happened from my past life's perspective, but that might be because there were other things going on in his life at the time.

I can understand that~ Sometimes it just takes talking to another person to get that moment of enlightenment.

[paraselenic]

[Something tugs at his brain as Harumasa types. Enough that he almost cuts him off at that last part of the text.]

The word 'Ethereal' comes to mind. Is that familiar to you?

[life_ethereal]

[That word definitely is familiar for Harumasa. For a lot of reasons.]

It's as familiar to me as "Hollows" are. Can't have one without the other.

Monsters made entirely of ether, hellbent on destroying all life. But only ever able to exist in the Hollows. Living things that turn into them are as good as dead. And there's never been a cure for it. All that could be done was prevention, which can only do so much.

[paraselenic]

[Hmm...

"Hollows" is still a bit foreign to him, but Harumasa's explanation gives some context. Ethereals are something that exist in the Hollows, which means that's their territory of sorts. And if he's that knowledgeable, he must have fought them. He can't imagine a world where he wouldn't fight to protect.]

A grim finality. I'm not fond of it. Just because there's 'never been' doesn't mean 'could be' is impossible, after all.

[life_ethereal]

[Harumasa can admire that attitude. It brings people hope for the future, and he's not in the business of extinguishing that. Besides, who knows? His memories are incomplete. Maybe they did synthesize a cure. Or, more likely, his memories end in finality before that miracle of medicine had been reached.

But there's no harm in hoping otherwise.]

It's possible! My memories aren't all that complete when it comes to my past life. Some things are crystal clear, but others are hazy.

At least here that's not something we have to worry about. Not unless we start getting unstable Gates that lead directly into a Hollow.

[paraselenic]

I suppose there's no sense fretting over it in this life. That life was a past cycle, after all. It had to end one way or another.

[He just hopes their efforts weren't in vain.]

Gates. As in the science fiction concept of gates to another realm?

[life_ethereal]

That's the way I see it. Not even worlds can live forever. But I think that's what makes living in the present more precious.

Man, I wish it was some cool sci-fi nonsense. "Spirit Gates" are things that lead into "Spirit Realms." I guess you could call them other worlds? We've got some stable Gates around the city, in fact. Some of them are perfectly harmless, but others have varying levels of danger to them. They're here all the time. The unstable Gates really run the gauntlet from very pleasant to extremely dangerous, and those occur every month.

[paraselenic]

There is something to be said about the tenacity of life if the soul can withstand even a world's life cycle. The human spirit truly is the strongest thing the universe has created.

But if I am to understand correct, these are portals, and some have stayed while others are fleeting.

That sounds a touch chaotic.

[life_ethereal]

It's kinda beautiful in that regard, right?

Haha, definitely seems like that! But after a while you start to get the sense that there's a pattern in the chaos. It'll take some adjusting, but I'm sure you'll adapt pretty quickly.

[paraselenic]

Beautiful. Yes..I couldn't phrase it better myself.


Please do not worry, despite my comment I am more than ready to handle any situation. You pick up certain skillsets when you bar tend.

[Before he was discovered and hired by the Vogue or the elite, he would work in local bars. Which meant fights would break out. And he would gladly end them.

Also some...previous work helped as well. But he'll leave those skills as surprises that'll help us later.]

[life_ethereal]

I'd believe that~ You'd have to handle all kinds of situations as a bartender.

[In this house, we LOVE surprise skills that'll help us later!]

Not to sound like an NPC in a video game, but do you have other questions for me?

[paraselenic]

[Lycaon's feeling a bit playful, as that seems to be Harumasa's MO when it comes to interactions as well.

With a quick Google search to make sure he's laid this out correctly...]