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kaisou2025-07-13 02:41 pm
July Event Log
JULY EVENT
Dominant Element: Water
Waning Element: Fire
Full Moon: July 9th - July 11th
※
As July rolls in, the Spirit Vein's colours shift to hues of blue as the water element takes dominance. And with it, comes the most miserable month of the summer. On sunny days, it'll be hot and extremely humid, with the air feeling like a swamp. However these hot days are interrupted with heavy storms that will let loose at least a couple times a week. Take care not to get caught in a downpour, and make sure you don't have anything outside that could be blown away by straight line winds.
Adventurers beware!ALERT: NO SPIRIT REALM ANOMALY DETECTED
Element Classification: Water
Danger Level: None! :)
Designation: N/A
Zodiac has not detected any Spirit Gate this month. Have a wonderful month's break! Please visit the Zodiac offices for more information, but there's nothing to worry about!
Well, that's a weird announcement. Should you decide to drop by the Zodiac offices, staff look a mixture of confused, unsure or completely relaxed. Professor Barbie greets you and tells you that for once, Zodiac hasn't picked up on any anomalies or temporary spirit gates. While some staff members believe this is a terrible sign and are starting to fret what it could mean, most of them are honestly glad for the chance to have a break for once. They assure you that they'll keep an eye on things and send out an alert if anything crops up- go enjoy July! Check out the convention!
So off you go to enjoy the month, and everything seems to be normal. That is until you're in a group- perhaps you're at home, perhaps your place of work. No matter where you are, you and the rest of your group start to hear the steady beat of drums. Not everyone reacts to it- not even within your group. It seems only a select number of you can hear them, but hear them you do. They beat a steady rhythm, one that gets quicker and louder if you choose to move in the direction of the sound. Eventually, you find a wooden box with the name Jumanji carved on the front, along with some jungle scenes.
Opening it up, you will find a wooden board game, with board spaces spiralling around the board, all congregating into a glass orb in the centre. Inside a small box in the games lid, you will find delicately carved jungle animals made of ivory. Once picked up, they will immediately fly off your hands to starting positions on the board. There's also a pair of ivory dice - just begging to be rolled. On the inside covers of the board, the game proclaims:
A game for those who seek to find
A way to leave their world behind
Roll your dice to move your token, doubles get another turn
The first player to reach the end wins
The OTHER side of the inside cover holds a dire warning:
Do not begin unless you intend to finish
The exciting consequences of the game vanish
A player has reached Jumanji and called out it's name
Despite this, if you heard the drums, you do feel a strange compulsion to play. Even if you're not the sort of person who would normally play what looks like a genuinely sketchy game, you feel it couldn't possibly hurt. It's just a board game after all, what harm could there be in rolling the dice?
A game for those who seek to findAnd so roll the dice you do. There are seven games just like this, happening all around the city. And once that first dice is rolled? You have been caught in the game's trap. A barrier will form around the area you're in, keeping you, your fellow players, and any unlucky soul who happened to be in the space when the barrier went up tapped in that area. No one can get in, no one can get out.
If you're thinking at this point that perhaps you shouldn't have rolled the dice, it's far, far too late. Your little ivory token moves forward on the board of it's own free will, there's no pulling it off, no stopping it. The game has begun and it's clear that it does not intend to stop. Once the token has moved the requisite number of dice rolls, the orb in the centre swirls a little rhyme for you to read. Unfortunately, that's not all it does. Immediately, whatever you rolled is transported right into your area, and you will need to deal with it. The vast majority of what you roll will be actively out to prevent you from finishing the game- it's almost as if the game is purposefully making it as difficult as possible to complete, now its magic is being wrought on the world.
The designated game areas in the city are:
RANDOM PLAY
MEROPIDE: RANDOMISER WING
PERSEPHONE'S COTTAGE
CYGNUS ACADEMY
THE MORRIGAN
RIKU'S APPARTMENT
OOCly, please see your area-specific sheet found on each of your toplevels. This will allow you to see the dangers you have each to deal with as the game progresses, and how you want to play the game as a group. Please be sure to discuss with your game-mates about this so you're agreed on how you want to play!
A way to leave their world behindYou can fight and avoid the dangers that the game spews out as best you can- but for the most part they remain exactly where they are. The more you roll, the more comes out of the game, dangers piling on top of one another to distract you and keep you from finishing. But finish you must- the game was very clear that the only way to get rid of everything that it releases into the world is to finish it. You start to realise the barriers that have been put up are the game's doing too. If you ever want to be free of the barriers and all the nonsense coming out of the game, you are going to have to play to the bitter end.
If you're lucky enough to have bystanders caught in your area with you, they will be able to help you battle through what the game brings on you. None of them can play for you. Once the game has chosen its players, they are the only ones who can complete the game- and they must do so in the correct order. What is a board game without rules, after all? And so you must work together, protecting yourselves, each other, and trying to keep the game itself out of harm's way. It will be a difficult task, one that only increases as the game moves on and more comes out of it. You will need to function as a team in order to survive this particular board game night.
In the jungle you must waitPerhaps you got it into your head that you'd cheat to try and finish the game. All it would take is making sure you drop the dice so they land a certain way, right? Or trying to tilt the game board at just the right moment to make sure your dice turn at the last second to a more favourable number. It would end the game quickly and you can all be free of it, right? And given how much danger the game is throwing at you, it's only fair that you can play dirty too, right?
Unfortunately, Jumanji very much does not approve of cheating. Any attempts to cheat in the game will result in an angry message appearing in the orb:
And then you feel your whole body being pulled. If you look down, you can see your body being pulled like taffy, even if it doesn't hurt, it's frightening to look at. It's even more frightening once you realise where you're being pulled to. Your whole self is being trapped into the orb in the centre of the game. No matter how much you fight it, no matter how others might try to pull you back, the game is determined to see you punished for your transgression.
When the game stops pulling you will find yourself in a massive jungle. Unlike the game, which only pulls dangers into the world based on dice rolls, this is where everything comes from. As such, there are countless dangers you will have to face. You will get almost no rest in this area, as almost everything is actively out to kill you. Nothing you do will get you out of the jungle- it seems to stretch on forever. All you can do is try to keep yourself (and anyone who was trapped with you) until someone managers to finish their game. Only then will you find yourself back in the area you were originally dragged away from.
When a player finally gets their token to the center orb, the whole thing glows a bright green. The word JUMANJI appears in middle of it. Speak the word out loud as the instructions told you, and a sudden whirlwind will pick up around you. Everything that was brought out of the game gets sucked into this whirlwind (causing extra damage as they slam into the area, of course), everything turning faster and faster, before being sucked into the orb. When the last danger vanishes away, all the damage that was caused by the game magically vanishes in the blink of an eye. Any injuries the game inflicted are gone. It's like it never happened at all. The barrier around you drops, and you're finally free. Of course, you now have seven extremely cursed board games to deal with, but at least for now, the ordeal is over.
OOC plotting post can be found here.
no subject
he slips the bracelet on as directed anyway, tapping the arrow-bead and catching the peculiar katana-bow that's summoned. the residents of the Meropide have likely only ever seen him hold his big dumb axe, or a single-handed sword, but he doesn't seem unfamiliar with the bow
and then he goes very, very still
the static buzzes behind his eyes, and the world washes out in sepia and he's sitting in a fallen tree log bigger than some people's homes, listening to the golden-haired elezen across the fire from him strum a lyre, the wooden bow at his back feeling heavier than ever--
the comms crackle as they round a corner, chasing the man in the magitek walker as they push through the Garlean forces. the air is bitter cold and smells of burning cereleum, and it aches in his lungs as he levels his bow and takes aim for an enemy pilot, steel and spell clashing against magitek as they claw through the Castrum--
the man--boy, really--next to him pretends that he's not shivering in the heavy coat they procured for him, white braid swaying behind him as they walk in solemn lockstep across the grand bridge that leads to House ■■■■■■■■, who's offered to shelter them despite the sultana's blood staining their hands and he reaches out to squeeze the lad's shoulder and hook an arm around his neck for just a moment as he hums a little tune to make the walk just that much quicker--
and the beast inside of his what was once his friend's skin levels a lance at the warrior who weaves gold, the tongue rattling out of its stolen throat echoing hatred in their skulls as it curses mankind, betrayers and kinslayers that they are, and he levels his bow with Estinien's repurposed eyes and his fingers shake on the arrow and he can't make them let go--
and then he gasps back into himself, clenching his empty hand and starting for a second time when it's not as empty as it had been previous. he's cupping a small green stone, staring at it mystified--and then he remembers that there were entire other people just watching him disappear into memories beyond memories, so he shakes his head and puts his 'nothing strange happened' face back on. ]
So, I can work with a bow.
no subject
The demonstration of the bracelet's power has his eyes go wide as he sees a perfect copy of Dormant Tide. He knows for sure that his own is currently in his room. The young archer really wants to examine it further out of pure curiosity to see if there are any flaws, but he restrains himself.
Then, he spots the look in Ghilley's eyes. Harumasa recognizes the look. He sees it a lot in the app users originally born in this world, and he's certain that he gets the same expression sometimes. Something has appeared in the pink-haired man's other hand as well, but he can't see it clearly from this angle. Instead of calling Ghilley out on it, Harumasa just stands up and slowly walks over to them. He's walking fine for short distances, at least.
Harumasa just really wants to make sure that their short king doesn't accidentally sever a finger if he hits the button that makes it not a bow anymore.]
Good! They'll need that. I just wanna show you the mechanism that makes the blades come apart.
[He points it out to him without touching it.]
Press that and then pull them apart. It doesn't need a lot of force, and it snaps back together by aligning them again. The string channels electricity, so be careful not to burn yourself. You can fire arrows without an electric charge. Just hit this with your finger to shut it off.
[And he points that out as well without touching it.]
That should be everything. Any questions?
no subject
[ fingers are a renewable resource, it's fine.
Ghilley turns to face Harumasa--continuing on this deeply unusual and weirdly competent thing he's doing, where he'd normally continue futzing with whatever the heck he was doing even while paying full attention to whoever's talking. eye contact is hard. he's careful as he dutifully activates the mechanisms as they're pointed out to him. it's fun to have a sword option, even with a bow!
he flicks the electricity on and off and few times, testing how it works--it's got a bit of a zip to it, and he might burn himself a little bit but that's what the high regeneration is for. we learn by doing. ]
Looks straightforward.
[ ... and then he moves his hand as if he's going to strum the air, and something glows to life instead. aetheric strings light up alongside the bow as he plucks out a chord, the innate electricity of the weapon adding a sort of growl to the quick tune he plays. it's a simple arpeggio--nothing with intent focused in it, because there are songs that're sitting on his tongue now as he lets the bardic knowledge settle back into his bones. ]
There's a hidden worth to bard--it doesn't do as much damage as the frontliners, but it gives them a little pep in their step. We've got a lot of people with a fist-to-face specialty so... this works out, in a weirdly serendipitous sort of way.
no subject
He is impressed by Ghilley's handling of Dormant Tide, especially with that little magic display. That bow wasn't the easiest bow to use, considering it was made of blades and that electric charge. It's definitely a side of Ghilley he hadn't expected.]
Ha, I'm impressed. I hurt my fingers the first time I used that bow, and you're strumming music on it.
no subject
I'm cheating a bit because a lot of the fancy abilities are easier to do with these crystals. They're like... memories, of the people who practiced the art before you that can be inherited and passed down.
[ he balances his borrowed bow for a moment, electricity off so he can show more of the strumming, taking a moment to pluck out a tune as he re-familiarizes his fingers to something he's never done--and his other self hasn't done in a long time. ]
My... ride-along was also hell on wheels when it came to weapons. I've seen memories of him holding pointy things and things that throw pointy things in all shapes and sizes--lances, big swords, sword and board, knives, guns, bows, hoops; you name it and he could pick it up and know how to use it good.
... the trade off was that he couldn't do spellwork to save his life, even with one of those jobstones in hand. No fireballs. [ a pause and a wry, grim little smile, some of the enthusiasm getting pushed back into its case with the next thought. ] No healing. Only hitting.
no subject
Can you teach me how to do that? After we're out of the murder game, I mean.
[Look at these big, golden, pleading kitten eyes, Ghilley.]
I know I'm strong enough as an archer to support people in the back line, but I can't do that when I'm having a health attack like this. I can't even use my more supportive magic abilities without risking worse symptoms. If your bard skills can allow me to still support people even while I'm resting, I'll gladly put in the work to learn.
[He really can't stand being helpless when there are people he wants to help protect. Whatever work Harumasa needs to put in so that he can work around the limitations of his body, he'll put in 110% effort.]
no subject
Ghilley's usual... deal normally keeps people from asking him for stuff because he acts like he's two seconds from lighting something on fire just to see the color of the smoke--but the whole locked in thing that he's feeling compelled to do, that's got his 'ride-along' awake and fixed in on this trial cleared that carefully kept smokescreen right the hell up, it seems.
maybe that's why the Other lied to people frequently and climbed on top of buildings in between meetings. he's gonna have to redouble his weirdness quotient if he's gonna re-establish the status quo of being people's third or fourth string pick.
he is not immune to kitten eyes. ]
I can--try? I've never been a teacher before. [ he shifts his grip again, the music trailing off as he takes the bow back into a battle stance. while they're buying time and figuring out the next steps, it doesn't feel too much of a risk to call the magic.
his fingers glide over the aetheric strings again in a quick stanza of a ballad and he turns--and it's a sleek, effortless move to draw the bowstring back as an arrow made of black-and-red aether coalesces between his fingers for just a second. then he looses it with a sweep of his hand, snapping his fingers as he takes out a particularly nefarious barrel across the room. ]
... well. Here's hoping I can pull that off on something moving.
no subject
[Jun sounds interested, but in a different way than his brother. Personally, he feels the desire to study it and try to learn more about the jobstone and how it works from a magical standpoint. And honestly, he has a lot of questions revved up about it - the curious part of him brainstorming them left and right.
But then he catches the look in his brother's eyes, and the tone in his voice- and he recognizes it. Haru's special interest has been triggered, and not just that... but he's looking for a lifeline. Which... considering how useless Jun feels right now lying here, he can relate to wanting to do anything to stave it off.
He'll shelve his own questions for now, focusing on supporting his brother's request. ]
... We can pay you, of course. Either officially through Aides channels, or under the table if you rather keep things quiet. [Since yeah, he's pieced together that Ghilley's downplayed his own capabilities by a LOT] He's a fast learner and a hard worker, so he'd be an ideal first student.
[Please Ghilley, please. ]