kaisou | December Event Log

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December Event Log

December Event
Dominant Element: Light
Waning Element: Shadow

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The sun has returned in all it's glory. The days may be shorter, but that's only because of the season. Throughout the month, snow will fall on Kaisou, leaving the city to look like a winter wonderland. While it's certainly cold enough to bring out the winter coats, it's not an unbearable cold (yet). On clear nights, the Spirit Vein in the sky will glow brightly in hues of white and gold.

The Holiday Season

The darkness of November seems to be all but forgotten as Kaisou enters the holiday season. The normal citizens have forgotten that the sun ever disappeared, remembering it as just a bout of awfully cloudy days. All around the city holiday decorations are being put up. There's a massive Christmas tree in Central Square, and there's not a neighborhood that isn't adorned in holiday lights. Stores are full of seasonal goods of varying sorts: from peppermint treats to chocolate coins to latkes to holiday cookies. Even places that aren't focused on Christmas got decorations for one holiday or another, whether it be Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or the Solstice or something else entirely. Basically, there's nowhere in this city you can go that hasn't been touched by some holiday spirit or another.

There's plenty of seasonal and holiday activities for you to enjoy. In Blue Fish Lake park, the lake has frozen over and there's ice skates that can be rented out. In Kami State Park, slopes have been open up so people can go sledding, skiing or snowboarding. You can gather friends together to go caroling, build a snowman, or attend the holiday ball that's set to happen in the middle of the month. While the University students finish up their first semester finals, the high schoolers are hard at work putting together their winter play: Beauty and the Beast. If you're up for it, find a way to help the school theater out or grab some tickets to watch the show.

The folks in Undertown are far from immune from the holiday spirit either. Enchanted holiday wares can be bought if you want a little extra magic to season. Some of them include dreidels that conjure chocolate coins on lucky spins, crowns of holly with candles enchanted to not burn the wearer, Christmas lights enchanted not to tangle (unfortunately not true, they actually tangle more), and so on. The Enki academy is holding seasonal one-time classes that teach about the history of the various holidays, as well as certain fun enchantments meant to make the holiday season a little better (such as spells to help with perfect wrapping jobs).

Yuletide Mischief

Unfortunately, there are some magically inclined folks that get a little too into sharing the holiday spirit. Throughout the city, sprigs of mistletoe have been hung up in inconspicuous places. Some of these have even been stashed away in unexpected locations and places not easily reached, thanks to the power of magic. Should a pair find themselves both underneath the mistletoe, they will feel a compulsion to display some kind of physical affection towards each other. Anyone that tries to leave without following through on it will find themselves stuck in place until they act it out. What type of physical affection will vary: it could be a classic kiss, a warm embrace, a spirited fist bump, a head pat, lewd handholding - the mistletoe isn't too picky! It just wants affection dammit.

However if you're really against the idea of expressing love and affection, there's a rarer variant of mistletoe can be found around the city: mistlefoe. From a distance, it looks similar to normal mistletoe. It's only when you're up close that you notice it looks a lot sharper and covered in thorns. Pairs that find themselves under the mistlefoe will feel a strong compulsion to fight one another. These fights can either be verbal or physical, but you're stuck near the mistlefoe until a clear winner of the battle is decided (or three hours past, for those extra stubborn).

The mistletoe isn't the only mischief going on. Amongst all the candy going around this season, there are some candy canes that have been enchanted. They look like ordinary candy canes, though people with magical sensing may be able to detect the magic if they're looking. A teenager or adult consuming one of these candy canes will magically revert to their childhood selves. Some will maintain their older minds and memories, some will have their memories will be hazy, and some will completely forget their adult years altogether. Take a chance to relive the spirit of being a kid in the holiday season, or just try your best to get along until you can grow up once again. The effects of this spell is thankfully temporary, no more than one to three days per magic candy cane consumed.

What's This

On December 10th, a message will be sent out by Zodiac on the Libra app.

ALERT: SHIFTING GATE LOCATED IN KAMI STATE PARK.
Element Classification: Light
Danger Level: Low
Designation: Christmas Town
3 A new spirit gate has been detected deep within the Kami State Park. Initial investigation has indicated that this may be the gate that leads to where Santa lives and works. We've also received reports that due to an outbreak of lutefisk-induced food poisoning among Santa's elves, they are currently dealing with a labor shortage. Any assistance that can be provided would be appreciated. That said, we do ask that while you're there you resist all urges to steal Christmas. Please stop by the Zodiac offices for more information.

If you head to the Zodiac offices, the atmosphere in the place is much calmer than the previous month. Professor Willow is still gone, but the fuzzier professor is back yet again, looking to fill in the void of educational knowledge. True to the season, he's got himself on a little santa hat and is more than happy to give you lots of facts about the historical St. Nick if you're willing to stay and listen. Do you really need to know about the time St. Nick revived some boys in a pickle barrel? Probably not, but it's still a fact that'll live with you for the rest of your days!

If you talk to Zodiac directly, they will explain that they found the gate deep in the woods of Kami State Park. They explain that Santa's elves approached them about extra assistance, since with a chunk of the workforce sick in bed, they will have a harder time hitting deadlines. Zodiac will also mention that if you are wiling to give them any information or any interesting items connected to how Santa runs his workshop...well, they'd be willing to give some monetary compensation.

Once you're finished with the Zodiac offices, it's time to head into the woods. It's a long hike into the Kami State Park, made slower by all the snow that's fallen. But eventually, just when you're about ready to give up, you'll find a circle of trees. Each tree has a famous holiday emblem painted and carved into it: a turkey, a pumpkin, an easter egg, etc. It seems like they're all doors, but every one except the Christmas Tree door is sealed shut and can't be open. Should you open the Christmas tree door, you'll find it looks like a bottomless void. Don't look for too long though, as after a strong gust of wind and snowflakes will blow from the door, and pull you inside- making you fall down quite a long ways.

Christmas Town

When you finally land, a massive snowdrift will thankfully break your fall. Pulling yourself up out of the snow, you'll find yourself atop a snowy hill, looking down upon a small village that's completely decked out in Christmas decorations. It's the type of city you'd expect to see only in a snowglobe honestly. Heading down the hill, you'll find a sign on the entrance arch of the village that reads "Christmas Town".

The town itself is populated entirely by short elves dressed up like they belong in a Dr. Seuss story. The folks of the city are very active - it's a busy time of year! The elves currently not on shift are seeming to try to make the most of the holiday season, engaging in every type of Christmas traditional imaginable. As you enter their village, they'll great you warmly and invite for you to join in their acts of merriment. Meanwhile the ones who are on shift are frantically getting ready for the oncoming holiday. Getting in the way of these elves will have them get irritable, telling you to either help out out of the way. This is a very busy time of year for them, and the work shortage has made it tougher than usual.

In the center of town, is a massive building that can be none other than Santa's workshop. Curiously on the front entrance of the workshop, there is a sign that reads "ALL SKELETONS MUST BE CHAPERONED AT ALL TIMES". If you inquire about the sign to the elves, they will shudder and mention that there was an incident some years ago and refuse to elaborate further. Inside the workshop, you'll find more elves hard at work assembling toys for the big day. Causing any problems within the workshop will get the elves irritated really fast, and they may try to chase you out.

It's up to you what you do in your time in Christmas Town. Perhaps you want to play in the snow and have fun with the elves. The ones who aren't on shift are always happy to have someone to play with. However, if you choose to help out as they requested, there's a number of things you can do:

Reindeer Tending: Out behind the workshop there is a stable where the famous nine reindeer reside. Magical beasts of legend or not, they're still animals that need caring for. Help with grooming their fur, feeding them, polishing their hooves, or cleaning their stables. If you have an aptitude with riding or flying, you might be invited to run the reindeer through a obstacle training course - which entails either riding on the back of a reindeer or riding a sleigh through a large obstacle course that's both on the ground and in the air.
Toy Making: Got any craft skills? Well join the assembly line of Santa's workshop! There's various tasks to be done from creating toy pieces, assembling toys together, painting them, sewing any cloth parts, and putting them in packaging. A couple elves will watch you for awhile to make sure you're doing everything up to code. Characters that do well will be given more complicated tasks, while others who struggle will be given basically the filler jobs.
Elf Tending: There are a lot of elves and worker, and they need to be looked after! Help with cooking the elves meals or giving them breaks when they look like they need one! Well rested workers make for a better product!
Toy Testing: Both the most fun and potentially most dangerous of the jobs. It's your job to test various toys and gifts to make sure they are both fun for the children and safe. Elves who have been coming up with new ideas will approach you with prototype toys for you to try out, and it's up to you to test them to see if they work, and if they don't explode. And yes, occasionally, they will explode.
Flight Planning: Santa's annual trip is easily one of the most ambitious flights ever done, and so there's a lot of logistics behind it. Help with making sure the maps are updated, the GPS is working properly, help make sure the sleigh is ready for the flight, and propose any flight paths that might help save time. No pressure though, the only risk is disappointing and crushing the dreams of children around the world!

Aftermath

After a few shifts of helping out in Christmas Town, the elves will invite you to come into Santa's office to meet the man himself. Santa is warm and friendly as you'd expect (albeit very hard at work going through his list). He thanks you for pitching into help out his workshop and making things easier for his employees. As a thank you, he is willing to help you with your own Christmas shopping! He will create a magical item imbued with abilities of a specific element (see information HERE). This item can be anything that'd reasonably exist in the world! However there is one catch. Since this is the season of giving, this item can't be for you but instead another person of your choice.

Once you decide what you want Santa to create and for whom, he'll write it down. The next day, the person in question will find the item wrapped in a present box in their home. Any attempts to trick Santa will result in a box full of coal being sent to your home and spilling all over you.

After your chat with Santa, it's time to head home! If you got any insider information for Zodiac, they'll be happy to pay you monetary compensation. Besides that, things are at peace and everyone has a chance to enjoy the holiday season.

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.

The original OOC plotting post for this event can be found here. Another Zodiac Post will be going up December 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

Out and About:
Early in the month, Danny spends a lot of time just hanging out around town. He had a dog now, which he had only managed to keep after promising his parents that he'd be responsible for taking care of it. He can often be found out in the parks, walking him or throwing different toys for him.

Danny also spends time shopping for Christmas. He had a lot of friends to get things for now, so it was kind of fun.

School Musical:
Danny had volunteered as a tech guy and general helper for the school musical. and it ends up being a lot more entertaining than he'd expected. He helped paint the sets and build some of the props.... and then, after finding out some of the special effects plans, he starts hauling a fire extinguisher around. Just in case.

Christmas Memories:
Danny had never been a huge Christmas fan, what with his birthday being so close to the holiday. But he'd never disliked it. But even the most Christmas person could get a little frustrated at the crowds.

After struggling to navigate around the Christmas crowd near the mall, Danny can't help to start feel some annoyance. And that is closely followed by a memory that definitely wasn't his. Because seriously, what?

Struggling out of the crowd, Danny finds a quiet place to sit, and then just stares blankly for a long moment.

"Who gets cursed to talk in rhyme?"

Birthday:
On December 21, Danny shows up wearing a warm black hoodie with "I Found This Humerus" printed on it.

If he spots any friends today, he will enthusiastically wave and them and run over.

"Guys! Guys! Guess what? The Birthday Skeleton has a sense of humor!"

Edited 2022-12-04 19:42 (UTC)

Wow, Danny. You could almost say he doesn't trust his friend with the technical aspects of this production, wow! It's like he believes there's gonna be multiple fires that Varian will end up setting and probably end up burning down the stage. Such a lack of faith in his friend. It's a tragic lack of trust!!!

...So anyway after the second accidental fire Danny has had to put out Varian's rubbing the back of his head with a screwdriver, frowning at the pyrotechnic device he has hooked up.

"Man, I just don't get why the output is so high. Weird."

Varian. Buddy. You literally told Danny you were planning on starting fires. Multiple small ones.

Well, at least Danny could say now that he had definitely improved his fire safety skills. Stowing his fire extinguisher away, Danny takes a look at the device.

"Maybe something in the wiring?"

He absolutely did this. And behold, there are fires. Multiple ones. All to help Danny's confidence in putting them out, of course.

"I dunno. I thought I'd got the wiring just right," he scratches his chin. "Though maybe I don't have enough insulation around them? That might be causing an overload maybe."

Oh of course. Now he just needed some explosions to practice his shielding ability on.

"If its an overloading problem, maybe we could try adding more devices to share the load?"

It's Varian, even standing still and touching nothing there is at least a 60% chance something will explode.

"Hmmm," he taps his chin, shifting to pick apart one of his devices that definitely has way too many wires coming out of it- it's sparking a little. "I guess that might work? I think I can Frankenstein one together to try it out?"

Nothing could possibly go wrong in trying to fix a malfunctioning device by making more of them.

....He was getting better at putting out fires. It will probably be fine.

"I guess the only way to figure out if that's the problem is to test it."

This is the safest thing either of them could ever do.

"I guess so," he rummages in his backpack, pulling out a few wires and tools. "Okay, let's see what we can do."

He starts opening up the still sparking device, as it starts to crackle and smoke ominously. It's as he's moving wires around that there's a low, electronic hum that starts increasing in volume very quickly. Varian yelps, dropping it just before it explodes in a shower of sparks.

Danny watches him open up. He almost says something about maybe taking care of the sparking first, but by the time he thinks of it it is already too late. Danny grabs Varian's arm and jumps back, using his free arm to throw up a shield against the sparks.

It's a good thing that Danny is so on top of this, because Varian definitely isn't. He ducks behind the shield with a surprised noise, wincing at the thing showers sparks everywhere. He reaches behind them to pull the plug and thankfully the thing dies.

"...Okay probably should have unplugged it first."

Safety is his middle name!!

Danny's shield flickers and vanishes as he drops his hands, and he lets out a breath in relief as the sparks vanish.

"Definitely unplug first next time."

He'd barely made it in time, and something about sparking electricity made Danny a little twitchy these days.

But his shield speed was really improving?

Danny Fenton

School Musical

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Christmas Memories

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Out and About

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