kaisou | [Open!]

[Open!]

WHO: Cyrene and whoever
WHERE: All around Kaisou
WHEN: First half of September
WHAT: Cyrene is exploring the city... and getting lost in the process
WARNINGS: nothing (yet?)

[ Kaisou city. It's... a lot bigger than Cyrene had pictured. Everything is bigger, really, from the buildings, to the food, to the streets, to the buildings, to the overall sprawl of the city itself, to the buildings... She's been here a few days, now, and is still finding new amusements around every corner. There's just so much more to see and do here than there was back home! She could probably spend the next few years wandering this city and barely scratch the surface of everything that it has to offer! She hums to herself as she strolls along, picking her way through crowds of passers-by denser than she's ever seen before. Ah... wait... hasn't she already seen that shop? Wasn't that the place she'd stopped to get this neat patch for her jacket? Just how many left turns has she taken...? She had been so distracted by the sight of a passing stranger's dog that she'd lost track... Oh, well. She'll find her way back to familiar streets sooner or later. There are more adventures to be had in the meantime! And so she finds her way to...

...Central Square?

While the crush of pedestrians is no thinner, moving into the downtown area of the city, Cyrene finds that she has little trouble weaving between the other bodies on the sidewalk as she takes in the sights around her. Namely, she tips her head far, far back to gaze in awe at the towering buildings that make up this part of the city. She's never seen any building this tall in person! How many people could possibly fit inside? It must look like a little ant farm, from a distance, with all of the office workers moving back and forth between their cubicles to the printer to the fax machine to the water fountain to the-- okay, admittedly, she really doesn't know what goes on in office buildings. Only what she's read about in books, or seen on TV. That doesn't change the fact that the offices themselves must be huge, and probably carrying out very important business!

Unfortunately for Cyrene, she spends so much time focused on this tiny fantasy of white-collar workers as busy little ants that she entirely forgets to watch where she's walking for a brief moment. It's not until her foot misses the edge of the curb and she only barely manages to stop herself from stumbling out into traffic that she comes back to reality--only for her panicked jerk back to the safety of the sidewalk to lead her to collide with another person. She can really only recoil again, flustered by the impropriety of bumping into a person on a busy sidewalk, and begins to ramble out an apology. ]

Oh-- ah-- sorry! I really should have been watching where I was walking. Probably should have stopped if I wanted to look all the way up like that... I didn't hurt you or anything, did I?

[ ...or Brick Alley?

There's something especially homey about the way nearly everything in this neighborhood is made out of brick. There's also something incredibly homey about the number of coffee shops scattered around. It feels like every time she turns around another one appears out of the ether! That would be silly, though. She's probably just not looking closely enough at signs. How could she, when there's so much else to take in? Like... counting the number of odd-colored bricks in the pavement. If every other one is a darker shade of red, maybe they came from someplace else? Or maybe they were fired for just a little bit longer than some of the others... okay, maybe that's a little bit boring. She could settle for just trying out some coffee, but... she'd have to choose one of these shops, then! However can she come to a decision when there are so many options?! ]

Mmm... I guess I need to start looking at menus... but... I don't even know what some of these flavors are like. How does anybody just guess on what to try if they've never heard of a "cardamom"? Who puts lemon in their coffee? Oh, how am I supposed to decide?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Whoa, careful now!

[Lia reaches out, hoping to keep the stranger steady.]

It's fine, you're fine-- I'm not hurt or anything. Are you okay? I saw you nearly trip there.

[ Cyrene doesn't resist this stranger's attempts to help her find her feet again. She does take a moment to look herself over briefly after regaining her balance, though. Seems all is well! ]

Mm... yeah! I'm okay. I was just... off in my own little world, I guess. I've never seen mountain-sized buildings before!

[ ...There's something to be said about the charm of a girl that hails from a city so much smaller than this one, perhaps. ]

Okay, good!

[There really is a particular sort of charm to the people who come from much smaller cities. Lia can't help but chuckle a little.]

Pretty incredible, right? I'll admit I kind of take buildings like those for granted because of where I grew up, but I can imagine it's pretty startling for anyone who's never seen them before.

[Faintly, Lia can't help but wonder just which kind of "out of town" this other girl qualifies as--though she can't help but suspect she'll figure it out as they keep talking.]

So, are you a tourist or do you plan on sticking around for a while?

There's nothing nearly this tall where I grew up. You might see four or five floors, at best, but these...

[ She glances up again, idly counting the rows upon rows of windows in the towering skyscrapers overhead. Ah... there's too many, and it's so hard to see when they get up really high... ]

...there has to be fifty or more. I wonder what the view is like at the top.

[ Focus, Reney. She asked you a question. ]

Oh! No, I'm here to stay, at least for a while! Someone very close to me moved here recently, and I figured I would follow him. Have an adventure of my own, you know?

It's definitely pretty impressive.

[Whew.]

Oh! Welcome to Kaisou, in that case. I'm Lia. What's your name?

It's very nice to meet you, Lia! You can call me Cyrene. Everyone else does.

[ A beat. ]

...Because it's my name. Hehe. Is that joke getting old...? Maybe it's getting old.

RNG it?

[Caleb, off hand, does not recognize this cute blue haired girl, he just knows it is not the cute blue haired girl he is currently dating. He also understands her confusion over some of the coffees.]

And maybe google. I think cardamom is in chai, though.

Edited 2025-09-10 15:11 (UTC)

R...N...G...?

[ While the sudden voice had admittedly startled her a bit, she does her best to school her reaction and not take a swing at a complete stranger. Instead, she offers him a smile as she turns to face him. ]

Oh, chai? That makes sense... I think. That's not really coffee, though, is it?

Edited 2025-09-11 04:24 (UTC)

Random number generator, just pick randomly!

[Obviously, Caleb.]

And yeah, it's not, but you can add chai spices to coffee and it tastes pretty good. At least, if the people who ordered it when I worked at a coffee shop in Colorado were anything to go by.

Oh! You worked in a coffee shop? You must really know your stuff, then.

[ Cyrene's hand sinks into her pocket for her phone. Ignoring that new weird app, of course. She just needs google. Tap tap tap. ]

What's it like in Colorado? Is it pretty? Where I grew up, there were mountains all around the city, so it always felt a little like living in a fish bowl. And the rivers and the olive trees... oh, it says cardamom tastes kind of like citrus? Feels like a weird choice for coffee...

I've worked in a lot of coffee shops. There's always one somewhere in a tourist town that needs help.

[He sounds so weirdly proud of admitting to doing traveling gig work for a while. Caleb please.]

It's really pretty, especially up in the mountains. But...olive trees? Like Greek olives or...do other places grow olives?

[ Cyrene can only laugh in response. The traveling life has to be awfully exciting! ]

Yeah, Greek olives! Oh, you should see the groves, hold on...

[ Dismiss google, flip open her camera roll, aaaannnndddddd there's like three thousand photos in her phone... when did that number get so high? Anyway. She will search for an appropriate picture, taken from the shade of one olive tree and framed to show many of the others around it. Then she turns her phone around for Caleb to see! ]

We were always told not to go and get in the way of the workers, but my friends and I would always sneak in anyway. What's the fun in listening to the grown-ups all the time?

Exactly!

[He looks at the girl's phone, making the appropriate impressed noises. He knows a little of photography from March, and this is a good one.]

I always wanted to travel outside of the States and the one dip up into Canada I did. That's a really pretty photo.

It was a little intimidating to up and move away from everything familiar, but I think so far it's been worth it. You should definitely go see the world sometime! Think of all the great stories you'd get to share with your friends!

[ She turns her phone back toward herself, paging through a few more photos from that particular adventure. After another moment, she pauses and an alarmed look comes across her face. ]

Oh, gosh, I haven't even introduced myself yet. That's a little rude, isn't it... my friends would be disappointed. You can call me Cyrene! ♪

I kinda need to stay in Kaisou for a while, but hopefully some day.

[He's not sure what would happen if he left. He wasn't here for a few years and things went fully bugfuck, after all. Hopefully things will calm down soon though.

And then the girl introduces herself and Caleb has a moment (doesn't he know that name?) before smiling.]

Caleb. Nice to meet you--did I interrupt your coffee-getting?

[ She waves her hand a little to dismiss the idea that he interrupted anything. That's silly! She has all the time in the world to go exploring around and trying things. ]

It's very nice to meet you, Caleb! You didn't interrupt anything that I can't always do later. Talking to people is more exciting, anyway! Do you still work coffee shop gigs? Or did you find something new when you got here?

Edited 2025-09-13 04:19 (UTC)

Nah, I mostly just do deliveries now. Way easier, ironically, since I don't have to worry about people throwing their coffee at me for it being slightly too sweet.

[He says that so cheerfully!]

And I...well, I don't know how to explain POKEGO, animal welfare crossed with...well, Dan Heng's a biologist and Josuke's a nurse so I guess you could said animal welfare crossed with science? [Caleb please.] Anyway, I'm not a scientist, I just work with them.

[ Deliveries, working with some kind of animal society? Sounds like pretty nice work. Cyrene nods along as he explains. Neither of those names are familiar to her, but if she does enough wandering around, maybe one day she'll meet one of them. ]

Sounds like fun! More fun than having coffee thrown at you, at least. I'd love to get to work with animals all day, some day... One of my cousins had a few goats, but... that's about it. [ She shrugs. ] As for me-- Iiiiiii'm between work at the moment, but on the side I'm sort of a small-time author...? I don't make a lot off of my published work, but it pays enough.

Ooh, what do you write? And if you wanna come see the animals we work with, we have a place at Cygnus! It's kinda like a daycare, but everyone's allowed to come and see and play with the them.

[She'll just think the fire cats and leaf dogs are normal animals. Right?]

It's a secret. ~ [ She laughs. ] I write fantasy stories! I love heroes who go on grand adventures, and get to meet all kinds of people and see all kinds of new things. Except... my best seller is a spin-off story about the heroes trying to grow the biggest pumpkin in existence...

[ Sure, filler episodes are fun in TV shows, but that story had just been a fun little thing she hadn't even intended to publish in the first place. that had been her aunt's idea. ]

I'd love to come by sometime! I'll definitely keep it in mind after I get my business settled here.

[March doesn't remember shit about Amphoreus. The last thing she remembers is the Wardance and how that ended, so she doesn't recognize the blue-haired girl counting bricks in Brick Alley. Doesn't expect to be recognized either, with or without the horns and the heart-tipped tail.

But she knows a fellow cutie when she sees one, so she comes over with a plastic cup of milk tea in hand, half-empty now because she'd been nursing it for an hour while scrolling on her phone.]

I tried the lemon coffee and it wasn't half-bad, but if you want my opinion you should try their wintermelon milk tea instead. It's way sweeter!

Edited 2025-09-10 15:10 (UTC)

[ While Cyrene does not in any way recognize the girl that approaches her, she can recognize a cute girl when she sees one. Pink hair really suits her, Cyrene thinks. As does the whole... ensemble. Is she cosplaying? It's a pretty lifelike one, if that's the case. ]

Wintermelon? Sounds interesting... I wonder if it only grows in the winter time...? Is that what you have there? What does it taste like?

Edited 2025-09-11 04:24 (UTC)

[March's tail sways excitedly, reminiscent of a puppy wagging its tail out of excitement. March grins.]

I don't know! That's just what they call it. And it tastes sweet and refreshing—you wanna try it? [She jerks a thumb down the alley to a tea shop that looks like it's frequented by hipsters, with a minimalist aesthetic and a logo in stark white against black.] I can buy one for you. I've still got some money left over.

Oh-- I can't ask you to do that for me! We've only just met, after all!

[ Pause. Processing. ]

Oh, oh, no, I completely forgot to ask your name! What may I call you, miss?

[ There comes a smile, and Cyrene folds her hands behind her back. ]

They call me Cyrene. It's very nice to meet you!

You're not asking, I'm offering. Cute girls have to help each other out. And my name's March 7th, but everybody calls me March! It's nice to meet you too, Cyrene.

[March raises her bubble tea to her in a toast, and takes a little sip from it. Her tail sways contentedly behind her.]

Are you new here? Most people who live here hit Brick Alley pretty often.

March! That's a cute name. I don't suppose that March 7th is your birthday? Ehehe.

[ If only everyone could be so upfront about things. Getting birthdays out of some people is like pulling teeth... ]

I am! I've been here for a few days now... a week? Maybe a week. I've been so busy I haven't been marking the calendar like I should. I wanted a new adventure, and this was my best shot at it!

It is my birthday! Well, really, it's the day I picked as my birthday, but I named myself after it so I wouldn't forget it again. I don't really remember my real birthday, or much else.

[Some people keep their tragic backstories tucked tightly away inside their hearts, and it takes forever to pry even a hint out of them. March is not one of those people.]

Well, there's lots of exciting adventures here in Kaisou! Sometimes it gets too exciting, though, and you get shot at with a rocket launcher by some mean little magical girl. [Not a word of this is in any way false.]

Rocket launchers and magical girls...? It sure sounds exciting here. Does that kind of thing happen very often?

[ It sounds like a LARP thing. She wants to believe that it's a LARP thing. There's no way people just go around the place leveling actual rocket launchers at each other. That would be insane!!! ]

Actually, no, don't answer that. I think I'd prefer to be surprised! Who knows, maybe a dinosaur will pop out of nowhere and start chasing people. Or-- or time will stop suddenly and only a couple of people will be able to-- wait, no, I can't talk about that one, that's part of my next plot...

Eh, not often. Maybe something really wild happens once, twice a year? I haven't been shot at with a rocket launcher again, at least.

[What sort of wild? March honestly doesn't know how to explain that to this nice girl who...probably isn't even on the app now that she thinks about it. But eh, whatever.]

There's a dinosaur in the zoo! A real live one. [No she doesn't find it weird. For all she knows, dinosaurs are in every zoo across America.] Wait, your next plot? Oh, do you write books?

[ A real dinosaur. Well… maybe things had advanced in the world of cloning science while she wasn’t paying attention. Wasn’t there a book written about this…? ]

Ah— yeah! I mean, I’m not a huge best-selling author or anything, but I’ve published a few… it’s about this boy who grows up in a kind of weird post-future society where they have oracles and prophecies but it’s also really high-tech… and one of his best friends is the Chosen Hero of a prophecy, so he tries his best to support him, but then something happens to the Hero and so he ends up having to take up that role instead but it’s a lot harder because he wasn’t trained to be a hero, but if he doesn’t do it, no one will? So they go on this adventure and find out… um…

[ She… really shouldn’t ramble her entire storyline away right off the bat. Even if everything she’s just said is only the earliest part of the first book. ]

It’s, ah. the first book is called Nameless, if you’re interested. I think you can find copies mostly anywhere that carries smaller indie books…?

[March is leaning in, interested, when Cyrene says Nameless and she blinks at her in shock. She shakes her head—that's just a coincidence, she knows that. There's a bunch of other books with the same name out there, there's even a thriller series that's about a vigilante called Nameless. She's read it, it's kind of terrible.

Still. Still.]

—hah, that's a really good summary! I'm very interested, yeah. I know there's a few smaller indie bookstores around town, so I'm gonna go hit them up for your book.

[A pause.]

Where'd you get the idea, anyway? That sounds pretty cool. Becoming the Chosen One in the place of the first hero, because nobody else will...that's such a cool concept!

[ Cyrene is practically glowing with the sheer joy she is presently experiencing, knowing someone else is interested in her story. So much so that she misses the shock on March's face altogether. ]

I came up with it after having a dream about the character who would become the protagonist... every night for a week straight. I took that as a sign that I needed to put his story out into the world! [ That, and her friends insisted. Not her human friends, but the fairies. ] Originally only the Hero figure who passes away was going to actually have a name. My aunt said that made the story too confusing to follow... so... only the protagonist is nameless. Imagine reading passage after passage of he followed his unnamed friend down the dark cave corridor, looking back over his shoulder to make sure the other boy was still following... It would get old fast.

That's a huge sign if anything! If you keep dreaming about a story for a whole week, I think that means you're the best person to bring it out into the world.

[She winces at the sample passage Cyrene brings up.]

Oh, yeah, that would be really confusing. Especially for me, I'm not the best at remembering things.

[ There comes a very grave nod. ]

The early drafts of the story were... not good.

[ It had been Hephaestion that had had to tell her outright that no one was going to read a book that consisted about 80% of nothing but epithets. he just... used much less kind wording. If I have to read the phrase "the silver haired boy" one more time I'm going to drive to the coast and set out to sea alone. ]

It's doing decently well now, though! I actually got to run the latest book by a professional editor this time, so I'm just waiting to see if we need revisions. It's exciting! If a little nerve-wracking...

[ here sampo is, minding his own business, wearing Not His Own face as he often does because haha, staying out of trouble is something he's bad at--when a girl with bright blue hair suddenly comes running into him.

this is so backwards. usually he's on the other end of that sort of interaction because he's trying to--okay definitely not pickpocketing someone, he's definitely just in a rush sometimes!!! but anyway, Sampo--his appearance today being a sharp looking woman with dark blue hair--gives this girl a look of surprise before offering a gentle smile as if he wasn't bothered at all!

He'll even play up the voice and sound like Ms. Seele too. His shapeshifting has gotten better lately, down to his voices. ]

Nearly took me out there. Girlie, you have a powerful center of gravity. [ Seele voice or not, sampo still sounds like... sampo. ] You were either on a MISSION or you had your head in the clouds.

Lemme guess. Theeeee latter. There's some pretty interesting buildings around here, after all. And that statue outside the mall? Crazy, right?

[ She's inwardly very glad that this person isn't upset over being run into. Her aunt had warned her that things are different in big cities, but so far everyone she's met has been fairly pleasant, just like at home. Still, she wraps a hand around the strap of her backpack, shifting it on her shoulder slightly. There's always the horror stories of people getting robbed in the streets in places like this... ]

You got me, ehehe. I've never been in a city like this before... so there's a lot to look at. It's a lot more, ah, colorful than back home?

[ Especially that statue. She tried not to stare for too long. If someone had tried to decorate a statue like that back home, they would have gotten in serious trouble. ]

That was the mall, you said? I'll have to remember that for later! I should really see if I can pick up some gifts for my friends.

[Having recently ordered his own cup of mint coffee, Yi Sang takes a long sip as he reads through his class textbook. But the voice of the person he suddenly finds in front of him, snaps Yi Sang out of his focus.

Right, maybe this is an opportunity for practicing friendship. As the book suggests. And the deja vu with doing something just like this at the university...yes, this was the time. Eye contact. Warm smile. Lift the ha----no, maybe not yet on that. And be relatable.]

A vast list of choices is an ordeal as much as it is a blessing. Turning your gaze inward perhaps is the ideal path to answer this challenge. What do you see in the mirror of self-reflection? The warmth and comfort of the familiar? Or the expanse of the new and different?

Today I find myself seeking the former, thus I have ordered a mint coffee.

[Nailed it.]

[ That... was much more deeply philosophical than she was expecting to have to deal with today. Ooooooooohkay. Cyrene turns her head so that she can get a better look at this stranger who spoke to her... and glances back to the menu as she tries to figure out exactly how to answer him. ]

Um. I'm always looking to try new things, I guess. I've just never seen a lot of these before, so... I don't know where to start.

[The dark haired man in question has a white dress shirt with black slacks, carrying a leather book bag.]

Ah, then if nothing in particular tugs at your will, perhaps begin at the top? Or at the bottom? Perhaps I can vouch for my own choice, I find the soothing coolness of mint balances against the warm stimulant of coffee.

[Yi Sang glances over at the sign himself] Though I'm slowly learning this city can be...fantastical at times, perhaps that's lead to such a high variety of options.

I think I'll try the mint coffee, then! If you like it, then that's good enough for me.

[ Cyrene's not a particularly picky person. And she's plenty open to taking suggestions from people who might become new friends! ]

...What do you mean by fantastical, though? I mean, I've seen some... kind of strange things, in the last few days, but I thought maybe things are just like that over here...

[Usually when he hears someone talking to themselves, Noah tends to give them privacy and a bit of space. But there’s just something interesting about the blue-haired girl that he can’t help but interject in amusement.]

Most people start with something soft, like caramel or cinnamon. If they like those, then they start to venture into the bolder flavors. [A beat, and his headwings wiggle just a little.] The decision paralysis is even worse in Austria- we have several types of specific coffees, and all of them come with flavor options as well.

[Oh. He just interrupted her thinking, oops. Noah actually flusters for a moment, looking away from her and speaking again.] Ah, sorry. You were so invested I couldn’t help myself from explaining, if only a little. Coffee is something I’m very used to, due to my schoolwork and the work I do on the side.

[Don’t make it sound so mysterious, Noah. You’re just a musician.]

[ The voice that speaks up nearby should startle her, probably. A total stranger speaking up to answer her asking herself a question? She can't quite explain it, but... something about his voice puts her at ease before she even has the chance to worry. ]

I used to put a cinnamon spice mix in my coffee, at home. I kind of miss it, actually... but I didn't come all this way just to stick to something familiar... oh, why is this so hard!!!

[ It's only then that she turns to face the young man that spoke to her--and she stops. And stares. He... he has wings? On his head?? They're not obviously attached to a headband or anything, and they seem to even be able to move on their own... ]

Are-- are you a cosplayer? [ The words slip out before she even has the time to stop them. Her eyes widen, and she puts a hand over her mouth. ] I'm sorry! That's rude to ask. You don't have to apologize for interrupting, it's okay, I promise.

[ They sure are off to a start. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Open!]

Central Square

Re: Central Square

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Brick Alley | am I caught up entirely nope but who cares DORKS GOTTA DORK

Re: Brick Alley | am I caught up entirely nope but who cares DORKS GOTTA DORK

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

brick alley; up to date and intensely vibrating about it

Re: brick alley; up to date and intensely vibrating about it

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Central Square

Re: Central Square

Brick Alley

no subject

no subject

no subject

brick alley

no subject