kaisou | June Event Log

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!event log

June Event Log

June Event
Dominant Element: Light
Waning Element: Shadow

※
Summer is here! Throughout the month, the weather will be warm and sunny. Very sunny in fact, the UV rays are a little strong this month, so you better make sure you have sunscreen or coverage or you'll find yourself getting sunburned pretty quickly! Still, not a bad price to pay for a little warm weather. At night, the darkness has turned to normal levels and the starlight even seems a bit more visible than normal. Take a special someone with you to go stargazing, if you're so inclined.

Summer Days in the City

With school out for the season, the school campuses are mostly shut down aside from any summer school or club programs. The rest of the city is full of life, however. Outdoor markets are in full swing, and it's easy to find an event in the park whether it be live plays or small concerts. There's also the anime convention that's taking place at the civic center during the weekend of June 18th! Grab your cosplay gear and your merch and set off for a wild weekend!

Around town, there's many new places to see. Buy some Japanese-style convenience store food at Ai-Mart, eat a burger at Big Bang Burgers (or take the burger challenge, if your stomach can handle it), or buy some knives at the new cutlery store! If you're hurt, you can swing by Bubu Pharmacy for some medicine. If you're more into performances, why not check out the Seisho Music Theatre Academy? Just whatever you do...stay out of the Dog Park.

If you take a trip out to Stardew Valley, the season has changed dramatically to summer there. Summer crops are all that are being grown. Even the vegetation is radically different. You don't remember there being any palm trees in the Valley before, but they're sure there now! The beach is now open as well, for anyone hoping to get some fishing in or gathering seashells! Perhaps taking a relaxing vacation to the valley is the perfect way to kick off your summer. And is you want to revisit some old spirit realm grounds, the gate to Kanto has returned to Blue Fish Lake Park. Go on some wild adventure and ~~get attacked by zubats~~ meet some Pokémon! Just watch out for the horrible goose that roams the same park.

Luck Be With You

The bright sunny days of June make the dark harrowing nights of May seem like a distant memory. It's pretty tempting to go out in the sun and just lay out. Be careful however, because throughout the month while you're outside- the Spirit Vein in the sky will flicker before dropping random items at you. Try not to get hit! Any fragile items will be magically spared - either by bouncing, having a little parachute, or having something (or someone) conveniently break its fall. Some people may also find themselves awake with new powers or changes to their appearance. Seems the Spirit Vein is once again acting up and spewing out some stuff from other realms. Oh well! Finders keepers!

Sweet Dreams are Made of These

At some point during the night of June 10th, either during an actual dream or as a sort of vision, you'll find yourself encircled by a set of five gems, all in different colors. They spin around you once or twice, long enough for you to get a good grasp on what they look like, before turning into small balls of colored light and flying into your chest, becoming one with you as they vanish. You don't entirely understand why, but you get the sense that they were always a part of you.

...Or, well, that's what's supposed to happen. For some of you, you may find that before the gems can become a part of you once more, a shadowy something will reach out and snatch one away, vanishing into the shadows before you can reclaim it. From that point onward, depending on the gem that was taken, you'll find that a part of yourself feels like it's missing, and you may find yourself changing as a result.

If the red gem was taken, you'll find yourself suddenly feeling unnerved by things that you never felt frightened of before, and you may find that your physical abilities and powers no longer function as they once did.

If the white gem was taken, you'll find yourself suddenly, and rapidly, growing older.

If the green gem was taken, you'll find that you no longer possess the impulse control you may have once had, and you'll find yourself leaping into situations without thinking them through.

If the blue gem was taken, you'll find that you just... well, you're just a bit less smart than you once were. Reading, writing, and arithmetic, things that might have once been easy to you, are suddenly much harder for you to grasp than they should be.

And lastly, if the yellow gem was taken, you'll feel yourself sinking into a deep depression. You may no longer be able to muster up the energy to do anything at all, because what's the point, or you may simply just be stuck viewing the entire world as a glass mostly empty.

Sometime mid-morning the following day, Zodiac will send out an alert:

ALERT: SHIFTING GATE LOCATED IN CENTRAL SQUARE.
Element Classification: Light
Danger Level: Varied
Designation: Night Dimension
A new gate has been detected in Central Square. Initial readings are inconsistent regarding the presence of hostiles, so precaution is recommended. Further investigation is required.
Investigative reports, as well as retrieval of lifeforms from inside the realm, will be compensated.
Additionally, Zodiac has received some reports of this realm being accessed via the subconscious. Actual evidence of this as a possibility is sparse and inconclusive, however, so Zodiac has elected not to investigate further.

Stopping by Zodiac Headquarters, the place has calmed down a lot from the previous month. If anything, the receptionist looks exhausted from all the paperwork and all-nighters they had to pull. They keep conversations brief and allow you to borrow equipment, right before drifting off again. Professor Willow meanwhile seems to have more energy. It's been awhile since this particular gate has been spotted! He's heard it has the power to manifest your dreams, and it'd be really fascinating to see what kind of creatures would live here. He'll ask anyone to record their findings and bring it back to them.

True to form, there is indeed a gate in Central Square. From afar, it just looks like the entrance to a normal office building, but once you walk past the windows, you'll notice the reflection of something flying past you— it's hard to make out exactly what it is, but it's definitely purple and it's definitely not something that seems to actually exist among the crowd. The gate itself is a simple wooden door, and functions exactly as you'd expect.

Realm of Dreams

Upon entering the gate, you'll find yourself in what appears to be some sort of courtyard at nighttime. There's a lovely fountain at the center, surrounded by a ring of wooden doors not unlike the one you entered to get here in the first place.

...Or did you? As Zodiac mentioned, it's entirely possible that you might fall asleep and find yourself here, or on the other side of any of those wooden doors. Isn't that just lovely?

Regardless, the first time you arrive here, you'll find that it seems to be snowing. It's brief, only lasting long enough for some of the snowflakes to land on you and melt, but as soon as it's over you'll find that you feel somehow lighter... and if you look down, you'll find two things that might strike you as alarming.

For one thing, you will find that you are not wearing the clothes you came in with— instead, you're wearing some kind of fanciful jester or silly outfit (maybe a crappy halloween costume, or even a fursuit). The outfits vary based on people's personalities and aesthetics, but they all have a jester aesthetic or otherwise silly outfit. Thought you were too cool for cosplay huh?

For another, you're now levitating.

This is approximately the moment that you'll be greeted by a talking owl, who will ~~forcefully~~ helpfully inform you that you are now in the Night Dimension, and that some being named "NiGHTS" must have granted you the ability to fly while you're here. He'll give you some pointers on how to control your new ability, but you'll find it's easiest to control if you spread your arms out to either side and just allow yourself to glide along. Just don't think too hard about the trail of sparkles behind you while you're flying.

The owl will also inform you that the doors around the fountain lead to various places in "Nightopia," the world of dreams, and encourages you to head on through whenever you're ready.

What you see when you head through the doors entirely depends on what it is you'd like to dream about. You may find yourself in a gorgeous green landscape, with rolling hills and streams and blue skies. Or perhaps you may find yourself in an amusement park, or even on the streets of a city you've always wanted to visit. No matter where you find yourself, it's always bright and sunny (or a clear night sky, depending on the dream), and the weather is always perfect.

Naturally, you're not entirely alone here. While Nightopia isn't exactly bustling, eventually a couple of small beings, reminiscent of cherubs will poke their heads out and start to approach you curiously. These, as Owl fills in whether or not you want him to, are Nightopians, the denizens of this realm. They don't seem to speak any language, but interacting with them will reveal that they're sweet and rather childlike. They enjoy playing, nice food, and anything that inspires laughter, and they'll cry and flee whenever they're scared or hurt.

They only seem to react badly to some of the other creatures that you might find poking around Nightopia— things like weird sheep, or other strange creatures that look like they could only exist in a dream. They don't seem entirely out of place here, but they definitely aren't as friendly as the Nightopians and you'd do best to fly after them and take them out. They seem to be weak to being rammed into, or even just forming a loop around them with the sparkle trail from your flying. Weird weakness, but okay.

Nightmare Realm

Speaking of being scared, no matter where you find yourself in Nightopia, you'll inevitably find that if you go far enough, you'll find what seems to be the edge of the world— a sharp drop into inky nothingness. If you try to approach, the Nightopians will latch onto your arms and legs, trying to pull you away from it and making increasingly upset noises. Even Owl won't get too close, but he does tell you that the darkness leads to the realm of Nightmare.

The name itself more or less gives away what it is, but Owl does provide one last tidbit: Those gems you saw before the gate opened were called “Ideya,” and it's only here that they can take physical form. The Nightmaren, denizens of Nightmare, have been stealing Ideya from visitors— and if you've already lost one, Owl deduces that must be what's happened to you. He doesn't know why they're doing it, but he does note with some sadness that visitors who lose all of their Ideya aren't able to wake up again.

Of course, you're welcome to ignore all of their warnings and head right in, but Owl and the Nightopians won't be coming with you.

What you'll find in Nightmare depends entirely on you, but the basics are always the same: Darkness, coupled with twisted, impossible geometry. The rest of the realm begins to build itself based on your worst fears. A person with a fear of snakes might find themselves in a den of vipers, while others might find themselves caught in a traumatic memory.

The Nightmaren here are nowhere near as cute and cuddly as the ones that must have slipped out into Nightopia. These take the form of strange monsters that are, unsurprisingly, torn straight from your nightmares— giant twisted spiders, mutant clowns, et cetera.

If the nightmares become too much for you, don't worry! Before you can get killed, you'll hear the sound of a flute before you pass out. When you wake up, you'll be back in the entrace way of the dream world. Seems someone was watching out for you.

Taking out some of the stronger Nightmaren may or may not release some of the captured Ideya, but will definitely net you some information: the Nightmaren work for a “master” deep at the center of the Realm, and he needs to collect Ideya from visitors like yourself in order to gain the power to make it out of the gate and begin conquering the waking world.

Retrieving Your Ideya

While many of the Ideya have been taken to Nightmare, a few fell out of the Nightmarean's hands and got scattered across Nightopia instead. For these lucky folks (IE, the ones who aren't quite ready to face their nightmares), they'll find their Ideya to be free for reclaiming … if you can catch them, anyway! They seem to be teasing you, flying away from you and leading you through an obstacle course of Nightopia's natural scenery, as well as rings that will appear in the sky for you to make your way through. Complete the obstacle course and catch the Ideya, and it's yours!

For those less fortunate, you'll have to travel into your Nightmares to reclaim what was lost. For some, this might mean facing off against your own nightmares. Some who do that will find their Ideya as a reward for their bravery. But for many, even that won't be enough to garner their Ideya, and they'll have to travel deep into the realm itself to face off against the Master of the Nightmare Realm.

The closer you get to the center of the realm, the stronger the nightmares become, and the more personal you'll find the nightmares becoming. What were once generic scares are starting to take more and more realistic forms— twisted versions of people important to you, whether that importance is positive or negative. All that matters is that they're targeting you, specifically, and they want to break you before you can reach their master.

If you can make it to the center of the realm, though, you'll find that it's quite a bit different from everything else so far. In fact, it just seems to be Kaisou's Central Square at nighttime. There's one problem with it, though— you distinctly remember there not being a skyscraper-sized metallic man with six hands in Kaisou.

This, as he'll introduce himself, is Wizeman the Wicked— Lord of Nightmare, and the cause of all your strife this month. If you can defeat him, you should be able to free all of the captured Ideya… but can you defeat a being that can wield your deepest, darkest fears against you? It'd be best to work together and possibly target some of those hand eyes.

Aftermath

Eventually, though, Wizeman the Wicked must fall. He threatens that he'll never truly be gone, not so long as darkness lives on in the hearts of men, but whatever. He's dealt with for now, and that has to count for something.

Any characters that help to take down Wizeman will have their Ideya restored upon his defeat. The rest of the gems will go flying away, presumably back to their owners who couldn't make it this far into the journey. Characters who lost a piece of themselves will find themselves whole once more after this point, whether or not they went into the Spirit Realm.

Nightopia will remain open and accessible for the remainder of the month, and all of the Nightopians will be celebrating your victory. You're welcome to join in on the party! Zodiac and Professor Willow will be happy to compensate any information you bring back. However, any items you try to bring back won't survive outside the realm and fade away - like it was a dream.

However, you'll find that if you try to approach the entrance to Nightmare again, you'll find that it begins snowing as you get closer and closer, until you find yourself in a blizzard so thick there's no way to proceed. Seems like that snow that granted you your flying— “NiGHTS,” was it?— doesn't want you to go back. Ah, well… maybe that's for the best, anyway.

OOC Notes

The dominant element this month is Light! Anyone with an affinity to the light 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 Shadow 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.

This event is meant to be a chill "pick your own flavor of trauma". If you want your character to face their deepest nightmares, great! Otherwise they are welcome to just play in the happy dream land of things. Do as you like!

The original OOC plotting post for this event can be found here. Free gacha is obtainable for any character, including new ones, through June 30th!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[you know, Zelos had a feeling he'd have to go chasing after at least ONE of his friends. But he figured it would be Adol or Amal or Ana - not Bruno of all of them. But you know, more surprising shit has happened. Like people wanting to be his friend.

But as much as he rather not deal with his own nightmares, he wasn't about to leave Bruno. So he chased after the guy, until he wound up in this nightmare. Which....man, even if he knew this was the kind of stuff Bruno went through, it's still uncomfortable to watch. Especially as it strikes so many familiar chords.

He decides to step up. He strolls up, and then says in a loud voice and annoyingly cheerful voice. For some reason, it's starting to snow around him. Don't ask about it, he is choosing to ignore the hell out of it]

SHEESH! Bruno you were NOT kidding! These people are just so annoying!

[he gives a waving dismissal hand at the gold fish lady]

Wah wah, my goldfish died. Who cares! Those things keel over from anything. Probably died cause it couldn't stand listening to your whining anymore!

[This time it's Bruno who needs the babysitting. Sorry Zelos, this is what happens when he loses his common sense.

The snow makes him stop in his own panicked rant against the crowd. For a second he thinks it's the nightmare Pepa, but no...no the snow is coming from Zelos. He very almost questions it, but is luckily distracted by having an alley against the Dreaded Goldfish Lady.]

Right!!!! [Holy shit, this is so cathartic, he jabs a finger in her direction.] Do you know she kept it in a tiny little bowl with like NOTHING in there? No little plants or little places to hide. Just a tiny little bowl. The fish was gonna die, I didn't need to see the future to tell her that!

[It's ok, those tables had to turn sometime.

But there we go that's the spirit. Get that catharsis Bruno. You need it]

Wait, seriously? Jeez, even I know that's bad for fish! C'mon lady show some common sense!

[And he'll point at the next lady crying about alejandro]

And YOU! It's not on Bruno that Alejandro can't keep his dick in his pants! What the hell did you expect him to do? Let you live a lie for 30 years until you found out the truth?! That you wasted your life on a sleazeball??

Just quit crying and dump his ass! Find yourself someone better while you're still young and pretty! Clock's ticking!

[He's gonna get that catharsis, you watch him!!!

Anyway, for a moment he kind of just stands there, dumbfounded. He's not used to people standing up for him. Mirabel was the first person to ever do that for him and it wasn't that long ago when she did. This is still...new. To have someone stand up and say 'hey, this is bullshit'. ]

Y-yeah! Exactly! [At least he can still ride his wave of zero self-control instead of having a major freak out about this and hiding somewhere.] She could just get herself someone way nicer who'd treat her well, but noooooo it's gotta be my fault that the guy she loves is a jackass. Basically, everyone here is like "wow we could improve our lives to make them happier or we could blame our misery on the guy who sees the future which he didn't ask for by the way because that's easier." Every time.

[At least Bruno has the excuse of losing his self-control. Zelos....well. This is just him. There is no excuse. ]

Of course! Heavens forbid we ever do anything difficult to improve our lives! We just find someone else to pin it on and blame them when they can't actually fix our problems.

[Yeah it's easy to channel these feelings when it's basically all he felt every day.]

Well then, here's a fortune for you all! [He points dramatically] All of you miserable fucks will keep being miserable if you keep acting like this! Learn some self-responsibility and leave Bruno alone, you losers!

[Bruno points at a portly gentleman.]

Do you know he blamed me because he got fat? It's like don't eat half your body weight in Sancocho Antioqueño every day!. I didn't need to see the future to know that would happen, either.

[This is doing wonders for him, Zelos is a great friend! The crowd does start to vanish, reacting to Bruno starting to feel better about this and having someone actually stand up for him. Alma remains, of course, with her candle and her judgey look, but she is a far bigger demon to battle. Which is why he's still not focusing on her. At all. Nope. ]

HAH! Yeah, exactly! It's not my fault if your lives are messy. I literally just see the future, they're supposed to be warnings, jeez!

What- seriously? [Giving a scathing look!]

That is the stupidest reasoning I've heard yet! [pointing at the man, and then pointing in a random direction] Go take a walk of shame, you asshole! Go on! It'll burn more calories than dumping your problems on other people!

[He does notice Alma, staring and judging with her candle. It's not hard for zelos to put two-and-two together about who she is- but it's also easy to notice that Bruno isn't addressing her either yet. So...he respects that. It's a much bigger monster to aggro. For now, he can focus on the fodder with the towns people]

You're right. It's not your fault. Bad stuff happens, and you're not bad for acknowledging that.

Seriously.

[Bruno exhales, it's always been this way, just every single petty, stupid thing they were mad about crashing down on his shoulders. It's not that he wasn't aware of the weight before now, oh, he has been horribly aware of it since he was FIVE, but having someone here point it out.

Well, he doesn't quite know how to feel about it. The weight hasn't so much been lifted as it's had someone else come along and help with it. Just a little.

Even if he's still ignoring his mother. ]

Thanks. I don't - well I've never really heard that before. And you're right, I'm not and it's ridiculous that they just decided I should be.

That's right, it is ridiculous.

[He hates that no one's explained that to Bruno before, but at least he's receptive to the message. Zelos knows firsthand how hard that could be to accept. Even now he has moments where he thinks the stupid rumor that he's cursed is true.

The crowd is thinning out now, leaving Alma. Zelos pauses, stopping himself from going after her. Quieter (which for Zelos is a normal volume), he'll address it to Bruno]

You ready to do something about her, or....?

[He'll follow your lead, friend]

[No one ever thought to step in for the Madrigals. Why would they? Between Alma being the matriarch of the entire damn village and the fact they got something out of it...well, there were no incentives to help. Now he's realising it, Bruno's pretty angry.

...But he's not angry enough to tackle his mother.

Even with his inhibitions removed, that is a step too far. He stares at her for a moment, before shaking his head.]

No. Definitely not.

[Will he ever be ready to do something about her? He's honestly not sure.]

[....

Yeah, this doesn't set well with him. Not after he knows how much damage this woman has caused him. Nothing quite gets at Zelos like shitty parents. ]

Want me to fight her?

[CAUSE HE WILL BRO]

Edited 2022-06-17 21:50 (UTC)

[Being willing to fight his mother for him is honestly the nicest thing anyone has ever done to Bruno and he's deeply touched by the gesture. ]

It's okay. [A beat.] I mean, I know it's not okay. But she was working on her...everything before I ended up here. It was getting better.

[The nightmare Alma starts to fade, just a little.]

I kinda yelled at her back home. I wanted to protect Mirabel. She's- she's not all the way like this anymore.

[She still has room for improvement, and he knows that it won't undo fifty years of bullshit. But...it's a start.]

She's still my mom, y'know? I still love her.

[Look Zelos has two big contributions to the world: looking pretty and getting mad about crappy parents. Of course he's willing to fight Bruno's mother.

Zelos crosses his arms. As much as he wants to go at it, he will listen to Bruno]

Alright, alright. I get it. [He does actually get loving his parents. Deep down, he still loved his - it's probably why he felt so angry about it.

But a parent working on her issues...that's wild. He's never seen that happen before. ]

But hey, if she starts backsliding? That doesn't mean you have to too. You don't have to go back to being everyone's punching bag.

[Zelos truly is a great friend. Probably the best Bruno's ever had in his life, if he really thinks about it. He does smile at the comment. Thankfully, he doesn't need the lack of inhibitions for this- he's managed to get to this one on his own.]

Trust me, I don't plan to do that again. I spent way too much of my life letting that happen. I'm done.

[Zelos would have no idea how to handle the whole great friend thing if he heard. Luckily, Zelos isn't thinking about that. He brushes off some of the snow off his shoulder]

Good! You got your own life to live, not just for other people's needs.

[One day, Bruno is going to drop it on him like a lead weight. There will be no escape.]

Hah, yeah. I...um, honestly don't really know what sort of life to lead? When I get home? It's all kinda been that one thing or living in the walls, nothing else. Guess that's something for me to figure out.

[This is the sort of thing people do in their early twenties, not in their fifties, but here he is anyway. ]

[That is rude Bruno. RUDE]

Well, that's fine! You don't have to decide right away. You can take time to figure things out, bit at a time.

[Hell knows that's basically what Zelos is doing all the time in Kaisou. Suddenly not being burdened with the Chosen destiny is both great but also very overwhelming because what else is he supposed to do]

[That's the risk he ran in gaining his friendship and trust. Too bad.]

Yeah. At least I've got a lot of time to...mull that one over. Weigh up all my options, y'know?

Yeah! Take it one day at a time, or whatever.

[He looks around]

Anyway, isn't that orb thing supposed to be springing up or something?

Oh right! My thingie!!!

[This whole venture would be a lot easier if Bruno bothered to remember the word ideya. Bruno starts wandering around as the little orb springs up just in front of Alma. Bruno clears his throat, shimmying around her.]

I'm just gonna-

[She fades away completely as his hands close on the ideya, it zooms back into him and Bruno stills. He blinks around them for a moment, before shifting back into his usual nervous slouch, chewing his lip.]

...Okay so that's back. Uh- please tell me you know who to get outta here.

[Well! That was easy! And he can see the shift in Bruno's body language. Yep. Looks like he got his impulse control back.]

Hey look at you! Back to normal!

[What was Zelos's excuse? None. None at all]

Yeah, sure. I can get us out of here! Hope you don't mind being carried.

Hah...yeup. Yeah. Suddenly deeply regretting a few life choices in the last few hours.

[Oh god did he really come charging in here with a nail bat to fight? He's five foot and a fart, who did he think he was gonna fight? He considers Zelos' query for maybe five seconds then nods. ]

If it gets us out of here then no, I don't mind being carried.

[He laughs a little]

I get it, but at least you're still in one piece, so- could've gone worse!

[Sure Zelos came in here just to prevent that, but eh. No need to highlight that.]

Alright, alright! Just know I'm doing this because we're friends, it's a special privilege!

[He doesn't give rides to just anyone! He'll scoop Bruno up bridal style. Wow, this guy really is small and light. Don't mind the snow that's still falling around him. At the same time, a pair of golden wings will appear out of his back. Sure you can fly without wings in this realm, but it's just easier to use them to navigate when you're carrying someone.

And no he's not going to give any explanation or warning. ]

It can always go worse!

[That's something he's pretty certain of, even if he says it cheerfully. ]

Wait what do you-

[Ooop, never mind, he's just gonna get SCOOPED. Bruno lets out a confused yelp, clinging onto dear life because he was NOT expecting the scooping. Or the wings. ]

When did you get WINGS?!!!

Oh-

[Right. Bruno's never seen the wings. How should he handle this?

By acting overly nonchalant about it, of course!!]

When I was sixteen?

Nightmares

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an ALLY what the hell brain

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