kaisou | October Event Log

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October Event Log

October Event
Dominant Element: Earth
Waning Element: Water

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Autumn is in full swing throughout Kaisou. The winds of September have settled down, leaving behind picturesque chilly autumn weather. During the month, the trees will be in full autumn glory, giving everyone a beautiful show of bright yellows, reds and oranges. At night, the atmosphere is perfect for a spooky Halloween night, with the moon showing brightly as you walk through crumpled leaves that skitter across the ground.

A Spoopy Time of Year

With the arrival of October, the city switches into full Halloween mode. You can't go anywhere in the city without finding some kind of Halloween decoration, whether it be jack-o-lanterns, paper ghosts, fake skeletons, or orange and black coloring. Restaurants and coffee shops are selling Halloween-themed refreshments, while there's a Spirit Halloween opening up in just about every empty building in the city for those looking to get yourselves a costume. Where did they come from? How did they pop up so fast? No one knows.

With school entering it's second month, students are finally getting used to the new daily routine. As they do that, maybe it's time to look into getting more involved. The Student Council are holding their elections, and there's auditions for the fall music concert. Meanwhile the clubs and sports are starting to gear up at both high school and the university as well. There's a wide variety, from high school baking club to the swim teams to the university anime club - or you can make your own club! There's lots of ways to be involved with your peers.

For those looking to get into the spirit of the holiday, there's plenty of things to do! The pumpkins are ready to be harvested in the farms of Stardew Valley, so you're welcome to visit a patch and pick out one for jack-o-lantern carving! There's also costume contests being held in the shopping center, with winners getting gift certificates to various businesses. Kami State Park are offering horse-pulled hay rides through the forest in the evening, for anyone wanting a fun date or family activity that's low on the scares. For those who want more of a thrill, the Gold Saucer has set up a ghost hotel experience. You can either do a basic tour that showcases all the typical things a haunted house has (creepy props, jump-scares, costumed folks, moogles in ghost costumes, etc), or for the truly brave, you can opt to stay the whole night in the hotel. The rooms are decked out to the macabre extreme complete with some creepy sounds occasionally occurring throughout the night. But hey, if that's what you're into - no shame!

The Halloween festivities aren't restricted to just the normal parts of town. In Undertown, plenty of merchants are getting into the spirit and selling Halloween items such as cauldrons (great for potion brewing), witches hats (enchanted to always be pointy), and witch brooms (enchanted to...just hover. No real flying). Meanwhile more traditional shops will focus more on protective wards and items meant to appease spirits, sometimes grumbling about the commercialization blinding people to the real dangers of this time of year. Enki Education Center meanwhile will offer plenty of classes about the history of Halloween and other related topics.

Samhain: The Lifting of the Veil

Those involved with the paranormal will be familiar with the idea of the veil between this world and the Spirit Realm thinning somewhat during this time of year. It's been a long known fact, and why so many holidays occur this time of year. However most years, the thinning of the veil results in nothing more than it being easier to conjure powerful spells, or an increase of supernatural sightings from normal people - some real, some fake, some from folks who have indulged a little too much in the Halloween spirit. Overall though, it's nothing to be too concerned about.

This year though? Between the already unusual activity from the Spirit Vein and recent damage done to the barrier by the man-made portal? The annual thinning of the veil couldn't come at a worse time. Instead of an mild increase in supernatural sightings? Normal people around the city find themselves bewildered as they become capable of perceiving all things supernatural. Your inhuman features? Your weird hair color? Those weapons you've been carrying around? The people can see them for what they are, and they have a lot of questions and concerns. The app users will be routinely dealing with the chaos that comes from those who once were oblivious now noticing what has been going around them all this time. Do your best to navigate the questions or escape if it gets to be too much.

Unfortunately, the problems from the thinning don't end just there. Throughout the month, tears, or smaller gates, will continuously pop up around the city. Each of these gates will lead to smaller labyrinths that looks like different versions of hell - complete with demons ready consume on any poor souls that happen to go near these gates. The surefire way to deal with these gates is to kill or exorcise the master demon of the labyrinth (which is a demon that's tougher than the other ones). This will cause the labyrinth to collapse and everyone inside will be safely teleported out. Do your best to patrol the city and ensure that no civilians fall prey to these tears.

The Disappearances

It starts slow, at first it's just one or two people from the app who go missing. Those who have the Libra app might suddenly find that they can't get a hold of their friend. For some, they might rationalize an explanation: it's October and some people are getting really busy with school or work as the big holiday season is right around the corner. Nothing to get too worried about, right? But for others, such rationalizations doesn't sit right. Not when a person they live with doesn't come home, or fails to show up to work when they've never been known to skip out.

Investigating these disappearances don't yield much at first. In most of the cases, there's no signs of a struggle. Though for a couple, especially with people who tend to be difficult normally, there's some signs that maybe something occurred - but there's no trail, no fingerprints. If you submit a missing persons report to the police, they won't have much in the way of leads. Zodiac too seems concerned, saying they'll look into it but not having more details to share at this time.

By the second week of October, things have escalated to the point that not even the most laidback of people can rationalize things away. Several people, all on the app, have gone missing and no one has been able to contact them at all or locate them by any means, magical or mundane. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to who's taken or when they were taken, just that they were likely alone when they vanished.

Just where then, is everyone going? Will you be next?

A Gate to Hell

It's not until October 13th does a lead finally get found. Zodiac will send a message through the app, it's signal blaring as usual.

ALERT: SHIFTING GATE LOCATED AT KAISOU HIGH SCHOOL.
Element Classification: Earth
Danger Level: High
Designation: The Qliphoth
A large gate has been detected at Kaisou High School. We have received information that this gate is connected to the disappearances of app users. Some locals have approached our agents with information on this realm. They have also requested assistance in stopping the demons within and saving the hostages. This realm is HIGHLY DANGEROUS, please only go near it if you're prepared. Please visit the Zodiac Office if you need any questions answered or equipment. And whatever you do, do NOT make any deals with demons.

Visiting the Zodiac Office, they will find that the atmosphere is once more very serious. There are Zodiac employees rushing around, trying to get a handle on the multiple crisis going on. Professor Willow looks rather pale and like he hasn't slept in a week. When asked about his condition, he'll just explain that he just pulled an all-nighter researching. Though when the TV in the office shows another news story of someone reporting a supernatural sighting of some kind, he seems to pale even further.

But before you can focus too much on the Professor, the Zodiac attendants usher you over to the group that requested assistance. It seems to be a mix of people that hang around the Underground and ....yeah, ok, that's a 7 foot tall demon with horns with them. Before you can brandish any weapons, the humans with them insist they're a good demon. They explain that within the realm of the Qlipoth, a demon lord by the name of Zoray is attempting to harvest power with human sacrifices - the folks who had been kidnapped. As such, they need help in putting an ends to the plans.

Once you're ready to go, the gate can be found on the football field at Kaisou High School. It's completely overtaken one of the endzones, a massive and twisted monolith that just reeks of evil as you approach. The grass around is turning brown and quickly dying off as red light from the gate itself reflects on. Needless to say, the homecoming game has been cancelled until further notice.

It becomes incredibly apparent, as soon as you step through, that the situation is much worse than what Zodiac was expecting. Before your eyes lays what looks to be once a normal city, not unlike Kaisou itself. However, its days of being a normal city are long gone. The sky bleeds between bright reds and blues, often mixing into an odd but eerily clear sunset, and two major landmarks greet the eyes amongst the urban ruins. Nearby, an old castle looms with impeccable stature, while in the distance lies a horrid and twisted tree.

One of the most prominent things to note, then, is the slight scent of copper wherever you go. It lingers on the tongue as something familiar, but you can't quite name it as to what. For folks with enhanced smell, however, they can tell exactly what that copper is– blood. The entire gate reeks of it. Even worse is how there is an oppressive air constantly around, one that feels heavy and has weight to it overall. The flora and fauna have too many eyes, too many teeth, and many look like if you mistreat them, they'll bite off your fingers or worse.

What a way of greeting the incoming help, huh?

Kidnapped: Face Yourselves

As for those who were kidnapped, let's rewind a moment to what happened. They had been in Kaisou when they were approached by a stranger, pleading to help someone who had been trapped within the Spirit Realm. Those who were reluctant to go were offered rewards of various sorts. Anyone who agreed to follow the stranger would've found themselves quickly nabbed by demons before everything went dark. As for those who resisted all attempts to lure them - well, the stranger had enough and called on their demon friends to jump you anyway.

Those who were taken will wake up and find themselves in caverns below grown, beneath a massive tree far bigger than any tree or really any building you'd find on Earth. Any weapons on your persons has been taken from you, and the phone can't get a signal - not even to Libra, thanks to the magic radiating from the tree roots. No one is being tied down or anything, as the demons are sure there's no way you could ever get out from beneath the tree. Listening in on their conversations, it sounds like they plan to sacrifice you. Those who are able to sense magical energy will be able to tell that even now, the tree is slowly siphoning their energy just by being here.

If you want to try, however, and perhaps avoid the fate of being sacrificed, you can attempt to escape. The kidnapped victims are in the root system of the tree, so they'll have to use their best judgement to navigate through the roots without getting caught. Though getting out is easier said and done to actually, as the root system is a maze, with twists and turns and dead ends and the occasional gap that must be traversed. Anyone who attempts to escape using magic will find their way blocked.

There are small mercies, as you don't seem to get hungry or thirsty while trapped in here. However after a few days, the tree's roots will absorb enough of your energy to create demonic doppelgangers of the captured. These demonic doppelgangers appear as twisted versions of the person they're copying, and worse - they reflect every inner demon within oneself and magnified. Someone prone to jealousy would have a demon that flies into jealous rages, while the demon of someone greedy will not stop until they have everything. These demons are their literal inner demons made manifest, and they were created to make sure you do not escape. Some will try to kill, while others aim to break you mentally by making you face your worst features. Do you face them head on and defeat your inner demons? Do you try and befriend them? Or do you just run the other way and hope they can't catch you?

Meanwhile, Back with the Rescuers

Returning to the rescuers, there are two avenues in which a person can assist. For those who aren't quite suited for or willing to do a marathon of battle, you can head to the castle. Meanwhile those who brought weapons and an itch to fight? Well, you're directed to head to the tree.

Route A: Raising Spirits at the Castle

The path to the castle is a straightforward one. The stronghold itself seems out of place, an old castle that's in a pristine state amongst modern buildings in ruins. As you approach, you may being to spot the residents of this castle. Demons of every shape and size fly, flit, scamper, and walk around the area with no malice or ill intent. They aren't the only ones here, as there's humans mingling among the demons as well. It's not until a group of these residents, the human kind, come forward that you may realize that this isn't a place of terror or horrors, but a refuge from what is happening outside.

Once they notice you, you're ushered towards the fortress. The group explains that long ago, this was a normal city, but one day that demonic tree appeared along with an army of demons. The humans that remained now are part of a witch coven, descendants of the citizens who lived here once. Their duty these days is to keep the balance within this realm in check, and stop the demonic legion from spreading further. While some demons have learned to live in peace with the coven over the years, there are many more that still seek to wreck havoc and conquer. Recently, the evil demons have grown fiercer, thanks to their leader Zoray's plan to harvest a fruit that'll boost their power and allow for them to push their army into the next realm over - Kaisou. The only way for the fruit to be produced? Sacrifices, and lots of them. They were particularly keen on folks with high spirit energy, like the app users that got nabbed. The coven is doing what they can, but they need help in both places, and in more ways than just fighting.

That's where you come in.

While many wish to go to the tree and save those who were kidnapped or even assist those who go, there's another way to help out. One thing that serves to weaken the force of the demonic army? Positive energy. Being a safe haven for demons doesn't exactly make it a place that one would consider happy or positive, and it shows. As the plans to take on the demons and Zoray are laid out, the group admits that having enough good energy back at the castle will help take off the edge of the demons at the tree.

Seeing as there's plenty of people who can help bring in some positive energy, they've begun preparations for a Halloween celebration, roping anyone into it that chooses to stay behind. Lights need to be hung, streamers need to be unrolled and placed, food needs to be prepared, events need to be broken down and planned so things run smoothly. Demons and humans alike will split the work, though watch out for some of the smaller demons, as they like to be mischievous and have fun when people are doing their job. Once things are all set up, then the fun begins. Games have been set up to entertain everyone there, including bobbing for apples, telling spooky stories, dancing, even a costume contest to keep spirits high, and have things last for a long while.

Route B: Speedrun Attempt

Of course, some may not care to scale the tree. For those who want a more direct approach to saving their friend, you hear rumors around the castle that the kidnapped victims are being stored away in the roots of the tree. Those who pursue those rumors and look around the roots of the tree (all while avoiding patrolling demons) will find a stash of items that were taken from the kidnapped victims. Take care of the demons guarding the stash, grab anything you recognize as belonging to your friend, and carry on. Eventually, the search will pay off and you'll find an opening that leads into the root system where the captives are being held. (note: if a character attempts to STEAL any items to keep for themselves, they must obtain permission from the player who the items belong to.)

Or at least, what seemed like an opening. As once you go inside? The roots will move and seal you within the roots. Just like the kidnapped victims, you're trapped within and subjected to the same torments the kidnapped victims must deal with. Whoops! But on the upside, you have weapons! Those will probably come in handy.

Route C: Battle at the Qliphoth (cw: trypophobia)

For the group that decides to head to the tree? Hell is about to get up close and personal.

Finding the path towards the tree isn't too difficult, but the further the group ventures in, more and more of the city they approach begins to show how devastating the tree has been to the environment. Debris lines the streets, buildings have crumbled and parts lay strewn across roads, and the smell of blood grows stronger. Perhaps the worst thing of all is the sheer amount of (cw: major trypophobia) husks left along the way, mostly in the shapes of people in complete and utter terror. Eventually the group will come across the witches assigned to watch the tree, still focused on keeping the tree's evil from spreading. A quick exchange of information from them fills you in on any missing notes– namely, that Zoray has gathered his minions and has gotten exceptionally protective of the layers of the tree. The higher you go, the stronger and greater amount of demons you'll encounter.

For those who try to bypass all of the obstacles given by the tree and its residents by teleporting or flying, they'll find a barrier forms less than halfway up the tree, with a phantasmal hand that shoos them away from going any further. Time to start climbing.

The Lower and Middle Levels

On the (cw: trypophobia) outside of the tree's tough skin, plenty of small fry (and not so small fry) will greet you enthusiastically and maliciously. Demons here more often than not don't speak in human tongue, they'll simply acknowledge your presence with a roar and bound after you. And where there's one, more are sure to follow. As if that wasn't bad enough, roots from the tree itself lash out every often, hoping to catch anyone who passes through unaware and impale them to the floor. Getting caught by one is going to have to use some quick thinking– either stab the root or shoot it, and the thing will let go. It sure won't be happy about losing its meal though, so be careful.

Far into the middle of the tree lies twisted paths and corroded edges, some of them almost looking more like a path of an elongated spine than the bark of a tree. Tougher demons lie in wait here, some even being commanded by others, and you may even come across spaces where the way forward is blocked by red spiderwebs that refuse to budge unless all demons are defeated. Finish them off, the webs will shatter, and you can move on your way.

The High Arena

Up at the top lies the demon lord responsible for this entire mess. Zoray watches over the rest of the realm, smug in his assumptions of claiming the Fruit once it ripens. The arrival of outsiders such as yourself is not something he expects, and it shows– he'll do everything in his power to keep you busy and unable to reach the Fruit, as he's standing beside it. It will take a lot of teamwork and cooperation to take out not only the demons serving Zoray, but the demon lord himself must be destroyed as well. Thankfully, the positive energy being created at the castle does help make his blows hit much less harder, and offer occasional protection to those who get struck. Everything is on the line, so bring your best to fight for the safety of the realm.

When the dust settles and Zoray is no more, most demons inside the tree will scamper, unable to handle the loss of their leader and not knowing what to do without orders. Make sure to destroy the fruit (which thankfully has yet to ripen) before you go. The trip down will be safer, and the coven will greatly thank you for your help once you return. Not only that, but the roots of the tree will pull back enough to allow openings for the kidnapped victims (and their would be rescuers) to make their escape and reunite with everyone. Any doppelganger demons that are remaining will need to be dealt with...or left to their own devices, never to be seen from again.

Aftermath

With the main threat dealt with, the city returns to....well, okay. Not fully normal, but a little bit calmer. Tears become less frequent, though still continue to be a problem thanks to the time as year. Normal people will still continue to notice more things than usual, but some of the more oblivious ones will stop noticing things. The coven witches, thankful for the help, will send everyone jack-o-lantern buckets that will refill with your favorite candies through October. Any items that were taken from the kidnapped victims by the demons will be returned to them if they weren't already. The staff at Zodiac will begin to relax, offering monetary compensation for samples of the tree and feeling hopeful that once they get past Samhain, things will return things to normal.

Except, that's not what happens. In the final weeks of October, after the Qliphoth has been dealt with, the days will get progressively shorter. Much shorter than what's normal for this time of year. Daylight will go from lasting half the day to only a couple scant hours. It will culminate on October 31st, Halloween, when the sun does not rise at all - leaving the city in perpetual darkness.

Going to Zodiac will yield little answers, as they have no explanation at all. Clergy at the church will inform you that the Black Order is looking into it as well. As for POKEGO, well strangely....Professor Willow is nowhere to be found. In fact, no one has seen him since the days have begun to shorten.

That's probably a coincidence, right?

OOC Notes

The dominant element this month is Earth! Anyone with an affinity to the earth 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 Water 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.

Player are still allowed to sign up to be kidnapped! Just head to this comment and sign up! Sign-ups for kidnappees will close on October 13th.

The original OOC plotting post for this event can be found here. Another Zodiac Post will be going up October 15th to serve as an intro post for new characters and allow characters to react to developments over the network.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Luz raised an eyebrow. "I dunno. I wasn't there. WERE you maybe engaging in butt poking offenses? That's probably very serious in their eyes."

She was joking of course. They had been something of a tough crowd, but Amity's spontaneity with Luz's silliness managed to win the day! She hadn't seen herself how Alberto and Luca worked together, but she imagined that Alberto's impulsiveness might not have gone over well with preteen mermaids, who likely had their own kind of pluck.

Luz was not ignorant that some people had worse experiences than she did. She'd been fortunate to have loving parents, and in a really nice place, even if it did hold some sad memories too.

"You're probably right about that! I'm also sort of affected by what happened to me back home anyway. Things got bad, and it made trying to deal with things like school way worse. I'll bet the Deep is probably pretty bleak though."

It was hard to talk about family stuff, for both of them. Luz could tell that much. She was pretty sure that Alberto was still dealing with stuff he kept to himself.

Alberto narrows his eyes at her, facetious in his defense still but always emphatic.

"I am the victim here. It wasn't just the forks. They were downright mean to us! The entire time! They kept calling us 'fish-breath' and told us we were too ugly to be mermaids. A-And! And?! After all that?! Their dad didn't even pay us! He was just like 'oh, sorry, boys, they're a handful sometimes.' Can you believe that?! Nothing! Nada! Niente!"

Thank goodness Luz is teasing Alberto about the mermaid girls, cuz he loves to get riled up, even if it's just for laughs. He's also... sincere. That experience was humbling.

And it's a much better topic than talking about the Deep. He could go on, but it is pretty bleak, indeed. Luca's more terrified of the Deep than Alberto anyway; he'll leave the horror for him to explain.

Luz was trying to be as sympathetic as she could, but the more he talked about it the more she had to do her best to keep a straight face.

"Fish breath?! Aren't you all eating fish, or do they...well, never mind, I didn't know they were that mean to you! Sheesh! And you didn't even get paid for your troubles? That's just not cool."

Luz would have continued teasing, but she genuinely did feel bad that they didn't get anything after what sounded like a pretty intense mission.

"Hey, what do you say the two of us attempt a mission together? That way, whether we succeed or not, we'll have our own story to tell Amity and Luca!"

Alberto makes an exaggerated scowl at everything she says about the mermaid party, shaking his head ruefully, still goofing off and taking his troubles in good humor, at least. But her suggestion lights his face up, even sending him standing straight and at attention, bright eyes and a bright grin.

"Yes! That's the best idea ever!"

He shoots her the double finger guns in his excitement, emphatic as always, but can never leave off a little smug joke.

"And, I mean, you and me? Obviously we'll kick butt at anything~"

Hey, not every mission was going to be a success, was it? Luz, after all, had spent a few hours as a cat due to the loss of one of her own missions, and it had been some time since she actually went another one.

So why not do the next one with her partner in crime?

"Right?! With our charisma and sharp wit, we can do anything!"

Luz totally agrees with his sentiment! Now which one to choose...

"There's a mission where we have to go collect a bunch of mushrooms, and there's also one where we have to organize a ton of books! The other ones are, well, a little more violent. Those might be out of our league."

Not specifically out of Luz's, but she would definitely need a fighter on her team, and Alberto did not have the skill set for that quite yet.

"There IS also the one about stopping a grave robber though, if you like to live dangerously!"

Alberto and Luz feed off each other's energy so well, so easy to hype each other up. But Alberto does want to consider these side quests carefully, so he hangs on her words with a deliberative look on his face as he listens.

"Okay, so, some of those sound boring but doable... Proooobably don't want to do something violent? Danger's fine, but, y'know, I don't want to worry Bruno."

It's been a little over a month since Alberto and Luz hung out before he started school, when he'd explained to her about his "no-deliberate-danger" promise to Bruno, but despite getting detention every other week since then, it seems he's still been trying to stay on track. That's more caution than he's ever been known to show. One question lingers in the air, though, on second thought.

"Wait— what's a 'grave robber,' anyway?"

"Right, good point. I'd probably need a partner who could also fight, no offense. But since there are a bunch of different tasks, we can find one that'll work better!"

Luz wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to do something too dangerous anyway.

"Exactly what it sounds like: someone that robs graves. Sometimes they need the bones for rituals, sometimes they do it for keepsakes. Personally, I think it's just kind of messed up, so I don't really want to know WHY they'd do it."

Alberto leans his head back slightly in bemusement and mild disgust at Luz's explanation of grave robbing. It's a totally new concept for him, and... none too 'savory.' She teaches him so many things, man...

"Uhhh— no offense, I don't mean you, but what're you humans doing up here...? Humans do some weird stuff, but— C'mon. That's weirder than weird. I love life on land, but mother of pearl..."

Luz sighed.

"Look at it this way: remember those sirens from a few months ago, who were all cool with killing humans? If I were to ask you what you sea creatures are doing regarding them, you'd probably be mad I'd assume all sea creatures are the same, and you'd be right. Some people just CAN'T help but be the way they are. You'd have to ask someone who grave robs to give you a better answer. Me personally? That's way too messed up for me to understand."

And Luz was hoping to keep things that way. The dead didn't deserve to be tampered with.

Edited 2022-11-23 07:40 (UTC)

Alberto hears her out, but he's raising his brow through half of it. He reaches his hand out and places it squarely on her shoulder, looking her in the eye with an exaggeratedly serious look and tempered tone.

"Luz... mia cara... I was joking. I definitely think it's a good thing we don't understand why someone would want to rob a grave, ha... I think we're in the majority there. I mean— I hope. Ha."

Luz let out an exasperated sigh.

"Good! It would be really hard to try and apologize for all the dumb things that humans do. We would honestly be here all day."

For a lot of reasons.

Alberto gives a little shrug.

“Welp. You don’t need to apologize to me for anything dumb you guys have done. Humans have never wronged me.”

He pauses, then tags on an after thought.

“I mean, except trying to murder me, of course — that doesn’t count.”

…If attempted murder ‘doesn’t count,’ then what does, Alberto?!

"Good to know. I don't think we'd have a conflict anytime soon other than the usual kind of things people might? Like about art, or cartoons or something."

Luz raised an eyebrow.

"It doesn't? Are you absolutely sure about that?"

Her question puts the smirk back on his face, giving her a knowing look as he raises his eyebrow in turn.

"Well, yeah, that part's a given. But I've always loved human stuff, sooo I look past that. I mean, heh, if I didn't, I'd never get to argue about normal human things like art or cartoons or something — I'd love to argue about art or cartoons or something, Luz, please, haha!"

He grins wider, leaning back against the display he's standing in front of in mock desperation and relief. Being able to live in the human world is endlessly exciting to him in ways that will always change, but never grow old; so many of the little things that are 'usual conflicts' for most people are cherished opportunities for Alberto. Granted, his own frequent conflicts are also all rather unusual and usually pretty severe, by comparison, so... The scales balance somehow.

Luz couldn't help but laugh at the reply. It was so very like Alberto to say something like this.

"Oh, we have plenty of time to do that! That's actually more fun than you'd think, and as long as we're friends, it's ok to have lots of different opinions about these kinds of things!"

Just as long as it never got bad enough where they'd hurt each other by accident, though Luz was pretty sure she wouldn't have to tell Alberto that. Mostly.

"Let's just make sure we know not to rag on each other over the wrong thing. That can happen sometimes even if a person means well."

Luz had, after all, stumbled into saying something she hadn't meant to sound offensive at all, and it had stayed that way until she realized the impact of her words.

Her cautious words catch Alberto by surprise, raising his brows a bit, and introduce another soft, serious note to the conversation for a blip.

"Oh. Yeah, of course. Of course. I always fix things like that. Yeah, don't worry."

As much as he, as usual, tries to smooth his tone over by the end, it is an oddly cagey reaction to otherwise innocent words of wisdom. But like anything else that seems to strike some kind of nerve with him, he pushes right past it, back to the fun stuff.

"I wouldn't fight anyone about stuff like that, anyway... Besides, it's good to have different opinions! I mean, for instance, if me and Luca liked all the same stuff, it'd be way less fun living together. Honestly, heh, I kinda like having not-arguments. We had a fun not-argument about Madonna a couple weeks ago, ha... That's just friend stuff."

Which is huge for Alberto to be able to establish already, still so new at having friends at all. And to Alberto, going off that same tender nerve Luz accidentally struck, it's a hugely significant thing that he and Luca are arguing about Madonna and not something big and dramatic. Even when Alberto almost exposed them over the summer, they didn't fight. He learned his lesson from their fight in Portorosso, and while he's still got unresolved lingering guilt and pain about it, they did find a resolution... And that resolution has resulted in nothing more than spirited bickering about their favorite Madonna songs, like so many other young gay boys in America. It's meaningful progress.

Luz didn't want to have a fight, not with someone she cared so much about, over an understanding that they could probably solve on their own.

"Cool! We come from different kinds of experiences, so it might be easy to misunderstand what the other person is saying."

Yes, back to the fun please!

"You don't say? Pray tell, what exactly was the fight about?"

Luz had opinions man, lots of them! Also, she was glad that as spirited as Alberto was, he seemed to understand that it was important to try and solve it as soon as you could. With small things, it wasn't so bad, and hopefully it would stay that way.

Alberto nods in agreement at what Luz says about misunderstandings, smiling; it's a fair point to make, especially here. He's far less socially experienced than Luz even knows, but he's become so adept at learning how to navigate differences in people's experiences. This whole experience living in Kaisou is an excellent practice in empathy, on top of everything else. He's definitely a problem-solver as much as he is a trouble-maker, that much can be said in Alberto's defense.

But a nod and a smile is all he needs to convey those softer sentiments, not being one to err on the schmaltzier side, as Madonna is a far more pressing conversation to pick up. His sweet smile turns to more of a smirk again, giving Luz a teasing look.

"Ha. About which song from her album Ray of Light has the best music video. It got very involved... Hard call to make. Too many good choices, haha."

The boys' journey in self-exploration and finding their place in modern human society as American teenagers may have just begun, and while they've not tuned into even the concept of queerness at all yet, they're clearly well on their way, getting off on a good gay foot by arguing about Madonna superlatives already. The signs. The signs...

And Luz could appreciate that Alberto a lot. As much as seemed like a bit of a rabble rouser, he was at his heart a good kid and a friend you wanted to have. If Luz had a friend like Alberto back at home, she imagined the two of them together would have gotten into trouble together but involved in some of the same activities.

"Hmm. That is a good question, and a hard one. I like Shanti/Ashanti a lot, but Frozen is also really good. So's Ray of Light really, but it's a little boring by comparison."

Peppy though! Luz liked the way the music sounded even if she thought the visuals were lacking.

Luz did NOT pick up on this, since asking about a Madonna era of music was just piquing Luz's nerdy artsy side.

Alberto snaps his fingers emphatically when Luz calls Ray of Light boring, feeling validated and vindicated, clearly.

"Okay, thank you! But what about the Power of Goodbye? I don't not like the music video, but— not as much as I like the song. The song isn't boring."

He's delighted that Luz is already on the same page, and it makes him tickled pink inside at how easy their friendship ended up being. Cut from the same cloth, these two.

Luz GOT it. Look, she loved the song, it was a great song, but the video was just Madonna gyrating back and forth and fast paced action for some reason. How did that count as a video?

"No, that song is great! But that video is another boring one that plays with lightning but nothing's really happening."

Well, Madonna is playing some strangely erotic chess, but otherwise? Nothing.

"I like when she's actually playing around with concepts, so even though no one really talks about it, my favorite is still probably 'Bedtime Stories.'"

Luz's engaged reaction to this topic draws a wide grin across his face. Speaking each other's language... He's got a friend who shows him modern music, but Katsuki doesn't actually like pop music — though through Alberto he is developing a taste for Madonna... Alberto feels a certain camaraderie about this intense interest he's developed, knowing Luz is in on it, too. What's more, if Luz likes Madonna, that must mean he's on the right track human-ing. Because she's the best example to follow on how to 'human' correctly... Luz Noceda and Bruno Madrigal, exemplary humans.

Alberto whips out a pen from his pocket, scribbling 'Bedtime Stories' on his arm. But once he's done, he points it at her like a rhetorical prop, smirking self-assuredly.

"I don't know that one, but, 'Nothing Really Matters' is the best, hands down. And it's basically about us, hah~ I tell Luca that I told Madonna to make it for him. I wrote her and I was like, 'Hey, make this song about me and my friend Luca,' and she did~ Ha!"

He leans back against the shelf he's against, mischief in his eye as his grin widens, eager to share one of the cute quips and silly inside jokes he and Luca make at home — Alberto's ongoing 'I made this song for you' joke with... himself... that Luca gets to enjoy on the regular (woohoo), any time lyrics seem to fit their relationship or they're both particularly bopping. And now, via Madonna, Luz also gets another little glimpse into their Barbie Dreamhouse life together... and it's probably just further fodder for her theory shipping her friends.

Luz would have loved to go over music and talk about books too, but she knew the latter would probably take some time. This was already a good place to start though: she could talk about music and videos and how art could express things that were more than just words all day!

She'd have to check and see if she could get Alberto into paintings too!

"Oh, that is a good one! Heh, no kidding? That one, huh?"

Luz was trying not to look a little knowing about this, but she definitely recalled the lyrics to that song. She certainly got the feeling they were close, but that had given her an idea of exactly how close that was.

"And he thinks so too, eh?"

Be still, my shipping heart!

Luz will have her work cut out for her if she hopes to get Alberto into books; better to indulge Luca in that one. But as for music and videos, art and paintings, Luz's influence will be invaluable; she'll show Alberto the way. He's got his natural instincts and a few good starting points, but the whole human world is his oyster, as a sea monster.

Such a sheltered life without guidance has left him in the dark about a lot, though, so Luz's knowing little smile and curious lilt in her voice is lost on Alberto. He has no inkling about romance or how to define those feelings, beyond what he's seen in the movies... which certainly doesn't resonate with how he feels about Luca. Likewise, Luca's just as out of the loop for being sheltered by his overbearing mother, so he's not quick to connect these dots either. They're both very much going off natural instincts with some good starting points, in many ways.

That said, it's convenient, in a way, because his ignorance of how to even identify romance enables Alberto to just keep telling on himself...

"Oh, yeah, definitely, ha. That's like our song. That whole album is our album, basically, heh — we play it all the time. We like to siiing together~ 🎶"

He affects a singsongy voice and places one hand to his chest, extending his other hand out theatrically, like an opera singer might, wearing an exaggeratedly emotive look with his brow raised — but acting so silly, he can't stop smiling, of course. Though that's kind of a given, anyway, since he's talking about Luca.

Luz would be torn about not having a book buddy, but she could share that with Luca at least. The other stuff, the fun ART stuff that Luz couldn't help but be drawn to, she could indulge in that with Alberto at least!

Luz knew enough that going down that road was best done with a light touch. The two of them had something good going, but likely neither of knew what it was yet. Luz had similarly not seen her own situation coming, so she had to sort of stumble into it when Amity plopped right on her radar.

At some point, she was sure one of them would slowly realize the feeling the other inspired in them, and then they'd fall hard.

"Aw, that's cool!" Luz said, doing her best not to draw too much attention to it. "You guys really are inseparable, huh? It's awesome that you have something you can enjoy together like that, enough that you'd sing it together and everything!"

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I've done several Nov quests and since this log was set in Oct, mind if I gloss over those a lil?

Sure, all right!

thanks!

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And now I feel all old

lol I'm sorry, it's contagious... also Bedtime Stories is so trippy haha I love that Luz loves it?

Luz is HIGHLY artsy, so of course she'd like the video inspired by Bjork!

I love that Luz has a taste in surrealism like Bjork and Dali in your hands hehe, it suits her well~

I could not see Luz ignoring spectacle and art at the same time!