jikan_rpg | July | Event: Waterpark Waves

July | Event: Waterpark Waves

Waterpark Waves↲ OOC Plotting

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Thanks to the Refugees, vital information concerning the history and application of Kizuna bonds is now available to the NRL with MRU's cooperation, quickly allowing for new breakthroughs in their research.

As thanks-- all Refugees who participated in the Trials last month are gifted a free week-long stay at Itabashi Springs, Tokyo's premiere (and only) indoor waterpark, while others will be given the chance to buy vacation packages at a highly discounted rate! Boasting a massive indoor complex, it's one of the largest buildings in Tokyo, housing a vast botanical garden, aquarium, and water park!

Wet n' Wild

By and far, the greatest attraction at Itabashi Springs is the water park itself! While the area will be a little overrun with children, the park is open to all ages, and includes a number of activities and pools for guests to use. Large water wheels can be seen pumping water through bronze-colored pipes, and a rainy midday sky can be seen though the steel and glass roof covering the complex.

But some may take notice of the large number of "swim at your own risk" signs. It turns out that Itabashi is among the first water parks in Nippon, and even after a year of operation, there aren't too many safety standards yet. They have lifeguards at least?

Black and Blue and Bronze Itabashi, Tokyo
Everyone who walks in will be immediately met by the sight of dozens of bronze tubes and slides encircling a number of pools. These water slides come in a variety of speeds, with one even requiring that riders wear helmets, as most people tend to slide out too fast, skipping over the landing pool, and slamming into a nearby wall. You know, safety first.

Those who visited Itabashi Gardens on its opening weekend may remember a certain waterslide boasting a pair of vertical loops. The slide has since been altered to create two horizontal loops instead, but the risk of being trapped inside is definitely still present, as most will find themselves coming to a stop in the purgatory between the two loops. Better start crawling, or else there's going to be a traffic jam inside the tunnel!

But not all the slides are dangerous. The newest attraction is by far the most popular, as a pair boards an inner tube and makes a slow decent down a clear pipe, which extends through one of the aquarium tanks. The lights are low and the ride is smooth, making it a popular choice for couples looking for something a little more romantic.

Wait, is that a crack? Is the aquarium tank leaking into the slide?? Don't worry about it.

Have Fun Don't Drown Itabashi, Tokyo
One of Itabashi Gardens' biggest selling points is their lazy river attraction. A narrow river circles and weaves in between other pools and under footbridges, lined with tall plants to give the illusion of privacy as swimmers float or ride atop an inner tube along the easygoing current of the water.

Along the way, swimmers can push their friends down various paths containing traps, such as a cave filled with waterfalls that drops buckets of heavy water on their head, or a slide that leads down into an isolated pool with a small bar, where swimmers can sit in the water and enjoy alcoholic beverages. Drinks must be finished before swimming back out to the main river again, but there's more than enough space to swim and float around by the bar. Alternatively, the bar-exclusive hot tubs are located just outside another exit, where additional drinks can be delivered while you relax in the hot and bubbling water. This is the only swimming attraction open late at night, so those who want a little more privacy best be staying in the hotel to get late-night access.

And of course, what water park isn't complete without a wave pool! Rather than use machinery for this, the lifeguards themselves have been trained in Mizu magic, allowing them to manually control the rise and fall of the waves. This results in a much more personalized experience, with some swimmers taking to goading the lifeguards into giving them bigger and bigger waves.

Just... don't piss them off. They're professionals who've studied for years to be able to do this, and insulting them will encourage them to bend the water around the offender, causing them to fall onto the dry pool floor. The water will constantly bend away from them no matter how fast they try to dive back into it. While not fun to experience, it's certainly hilarious to watch happen to someone else.

Deep Blue Sea

The aquarium is perhaps the greatest showing of Tokyo's technological advancements over other cities, with vast tanks containing any number of fish and other sea creatures. Guests can spend hours looking into the tanks and appreciating this rare look at Gaia's unique wildlife.

Refugees who decide to stay in the hotel will be staying in one of a number of rooms sharing a wall with the largest tank in the complex. Take a relaxing nap as sealife gently coasts by the window, as if living under the sea. Just keep in mind that with the lights off, it's not too hard to see across the tank and into another bedroom, so don't forget to close the curtains before doing any Activities (unless you're into that).

Landshark Itabashi, Tokyo
By far, the greatest appeal of the aquarium is the different ways one can experience the sights, as in addition to the winding paths outside the tanks, there are also guided tours inside, using magi-tech breathing apparatuses to allow for breathing underwater, with the latest model even allowing for natural-sounding speech through a small speaker. These devices have a half-hour time limit before they need to be refilled at the surface, but those proficient in Mizu magic will find they can stay underwater just fine for well over an hour.

Guests will be warned not to stray from the group for their own safety. But those who do may find themselves in areas they're clearly not meant to be, with one such area including a large shark tank. For the most part, the sharks won't bother anyone. They're not the thing to worry about. Unbeknownst to the staff, a kagewani was accidentally captured when gathering specimens for the aquarium. Known as the shadow-shark ayakashi, it appears only as a flat dark shadow with no physical body, and should your own shadow cross in front of it, it'll attack and simulate the pain of a shark bite, even from very far away.

Immediate treatment of the skin will alleviate the pain, but waiting too long will allow the curse to settle into their bones, resulting in a deeper pain that lasts for over a week. Alternatively, killing the kagewani will undo the curse immediately. How do you kill a shadow? While stabbing it may cause it to run away, exposing its body to bright light is the only way to kill the creature.

Considering the effects of its curse can extend through the glass walls of the tank itself, even those simply walking through the aquarium normally best be careful not to cast a shadow into the tank either!

Horny Sealife Itabashi, Tokyo
One of the newest attractions this year is a special wading pool that guests can walk through directly, extending through a winding path down a long hallway. With a sandy floor and waves that gently lap at their legs, it's a popular choice for those who wants to see creatures up close without doing a full dive.

For the most part, the pool is filled with starfish, harmless anemone, and the occasional small fish. But the pool comes with a warning. Don't touch the spiky anemone. But why? Of course someone is going to find this out the hard way, either by accidentally taking the wrong step, or curiously poking it.

The spikey anemone in the wading pool is actually a gentle ayakashi known as the anemonmon. Never attacking directly, these ayakashi will only cast their spells when stepped on, causing either feelings of intense anxiety and distress, or feelings of intense arousal, seemingly at random.

Why would they put such a thing in a wading pool?? Perhaps they put a bit too much faith into people reading the signs properly. Though this may explain why such a seemingly family-friendly exhibit has an age limit.

Greener Pastures

One of the most intriguing points of interest is the Botanical Garden. In addition to beautiful local plants, the garden boasts many exotic plants, including those previously thought to be impossible to raise in captivity.

Butterflies can be seen fluttering around, and while the inside of the garden is very warm, those sensitive to heat can borrow a cooling poncho with a magi-tech powered cooling device fixed inside of it to keep from overheating.

Plants of Temptation Itabashi, Tokyo
This summer features the opening of a new exhibit: an entire grove of wine fruit trees, specifically formulated to contain unique flavors. Thankfully, most of the fruit available is fresh, so the alcohol levels are low enough that one can enjoy as many flavors as they like!

There are a few basic flavors, including apple, strawberry, and watermelon, in addition to the classic grape-like flavor. Guests are welcome to pick them off the tree to taste test, and are even allowed to take the seeds home, which work as effective pain killers when chewed, no matter the ripeness of the fruit.

But those old enough to drink can select from a few fruit cocktails brewed using the fully ripened variety, which all contain a not-insignificant amount of alcohol. But among them, a suspiciously mild and floral variety is the most potent, with just a few sips required to put anyone flat on their ass. There's a reason they won't sell more than one glass of it to any one person.

However, those looking for something a bit more exciting should make their way over to the Nuruname Blooms. Carefully guarded by a well-trained samurai during the day, these plants are known for using their long, slimy buds to inject seeds into living creatures in order to incubate them. The samurai is there for your protection, not the plant's!

But the Gardens can't afford to pay a samurai to be there 24/7, and at certain times of the day, the nuruname is simply guarded by a strongly worded sign not to get too close. And while that may be a sufficient warning for visitors, it's not enough to stop the nuruname from hurling its vines across the barrier to try and drag some poor soul into its grasp. Looks like it grew a little faster than expected. The slime it produces is also a powerful aphrodisiac, but try not to have too much fun out there.

Cry Baby Itabashi, Tokyo
Plants aren't the only thing on display in the Botanical Garden. Isolated from the rest of the complex is a series of rooms housing plant-like ayakashi. Before entering these rooms, guests must be purified by a brief prayer given by a local monk, and affixed with a thin paper talisman on their forehead. Removing it will prevent them from being allowed to leave the area until they've walked back to the front and received a new one, in order to prevent any ayakashi curses from spreading.

After all, the very first enclosure houses an entire field of higanbana. As these flowers only grow in places where people have died, it begs the question of exactly how they got them here in the first place. However, there's a rather interesting trick at play here. The higanbana is only visible to those who have witnessed a person die. Those who haven't won't see them at all. Instead, they'll see the vast graveyard filled with stone markers hidden below the flowers, with an otherwise hidden plaque reading: "Dedicated to those who didn't survive to see the end of the time loop, and pledged their final year to the research of this facility. May their souls rest in peace." A bit grim, but a unique memorial all the same. But should there really be so many...?

Many of the next exhibits aren't too exciting. A Venus flytrap type ayakashi that gnaws on anything unlucky enough to sit next to it, a grass-like ayakashi that turns the ground acidic enough to melt metal, a distressingly stinky flower that manifests temporary synesthesia in anyone who stares at it for too long... okay, the tree that grows fruit that resembles laughing human heads is pretty wild.

But at the end of the exhibit lies an enclosure labeled "Unknown". Inside sits a singular boulder and nothing else. But the moment one turns away from it, they'll hear the sound of a woman crying and wailing for help in the distance. And yet, the source sounds as if coming from the stone itself. Attempting to listen to what the stone is saying won't bring any clarity, but it will cause the listener to begin crying profusely, overwhelmed by a feeling they won't be able to explain. Those who are affected are encouraged to leave as soon as possible, as the full effects of this ayakashi's curse are not known. What is known is that those who cry when listening to the screams of the yonaki-ishi will become more prone to crying whenever they become upset in the future. How long this effect lingers is also unknown.

OOC Notes
Welcome to Jikan's July event! Please direct any questions to the Question Thread in the OOC Plotting post.

• The slides can be as dangerous as you want them to be, but no fatalities, please! They don't have a great reputation for safety, but they're trying.
• Visitors are not allowed to retaliate against the lifeguards. Doing so will result in being removed from Itabashi Gardens all together. Splashing back doesn't count as retaliation.
• Feel free to get creative with what underwater wildlife exists in the aquarium! Siren jellies can be found swimming throughout, for example, but you're not limited to what exists on the Flora and Fauna page. However, due to their dangerous nature, any aquatic ayakashi such as Fukugyo will be kept in sealed tanks with no swimming access.
• If you are unsure whether your character would be able to afford basic amusement park entrance fees, you can assume someone at the NRL bought them a ticket!

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ On closer inspection, the writhing mass of 'sand' is actually a large octopus whose tentacles have suctioned onto the glass ~~because Sagi apparently failed to proofread his last tag to specify the freaking animal~~. It follows Kaito's hand until he pulls away to turn back to Edelgard. ]

Walking in blind is a blessing. Everything here will be a discovery for you. Does anything nearby look particularly interesting? I think we're near the deep sea life section and one of the break areas.

Those look interesting.

[There's a little arrow that points to the deep sea exhibit. It has a glowing jellyfish on it called a sea angel.]

—Oh, those are...

[ Kaito walks over, and as soon as he sticks his face close to the tank the little thing floats its way towards the empath. ]

Sea angels. The glowing portions are their internal organs. They're really pretty, right? Makes for great whiplash when you learn about their diet.

...What do they eat?

[If he doesn't tell her she's going to blast through the whole exhibit to read just That One Plaque.]

[ As entertaining as the thought of Edelgard rampaging through the aquarium is, Kaito intends to answer.

However, he won't have to. A sea butterfly comes floating along, just as beautiful as the sea angel...

Though, the latter turns towards the former, shoots a pair of tentacles out of its face to wrap around the butterfly's 'wings', and proceeds to tear it out of its shell before gnawing on its dying body. ]

...Their cousins, the sea butterfly. [ That was intentional, right? The aquarium keepers intentionally fed that sea butterfly to the sea angel, right? Why would they be in the same tank otherwise??? ]

[Edelgard flinches so hard that the recoil is just short of a jump away from the tank. It's not the brutality that gets her, but the sudden shooting out of tentacles that takes her by surprise.]

Oh... are they all like that?

[Please, save her from the mental image of every ocean creature being a tentacled monstrosity.]

[ Oh. That's a strong reaction. Is she surprised about the carnage... or the tentacles??? ]

Uh. No, not quite. Predators have different ways to hunt their prey. I suppose the sea angel's tentacles are kinda surprising. You wouldn't expect those long tendrils to shoot out of a slug's face.

Guess that's why it's so effective...

Yes, I suppose that would grant them quite the advantage...

[As her sentence trails off she walks further into the deep ocean exhibit. The dim lighting allows the bioluminescent creatures to really 'shine' in the artificial environment. Various jellyfish, nautilus and isopod tanks... very fascinating! Edelgard will take the time to read every. Piece. Of literature available.]

[ He's surprised. It's not that he's come up with some arbitrary expectations regarding Edelgard's character, but it's nice to see that she's so eager to absorb new information. The bookworm in him is living right now.

So he simply strolls along beside her, occasionally spouting factoids about each animal that he knows from his world. A few questions eventually spring to mind. ]

Are you the studious type, or just curious about how this world's wildlife differs from yours? Either way, it's nice to see someone else take to absorbing new knowledge with your enthusiasm.

I like learning.

[Information is power. Learning creates a whole new feeling of discovery and wonder. Learning is a habit after the expectations her uncle put her under. There are many starting points at which this insatiable hunger for information may have begun, but it all has the same result. Besides, she's the kind of girl who likes a textbook only nerds read. Of course little simplified plaques aren't gonna cut it. So she has to consume all of them.]

Besides, it might not even be that different. We haven't explored this far down in our oceans.

—Geez, careful with the smooth talking there.

[ He teases, but there's more than just a grain of truth to the one-liner. On Kaito's end, books were more friendly to him than other humans while he was growing up, so he secluded himself within libraries and surrounded himself with literature whenever the neighborhood yokai weren't around to play.

...Not much has changed, considering how much time he spends at the university's library here. ]

It'd be nice to get a chance to explore the depths. Maybe if fate sends me over to your world next I can facilitate a dive or two.

Please remember I do not know how to swim.

[It would be awful, please no thank you. An aquarium is perfect. She gets to see the fishes without actually having to swim. Ideal.

They get further into the exhibit. The lights are so low that the place almost feels private. The cool air simulates just a fraction of the chill of the deep sea. But the dark quiet is comforting in a way she never thought she would think so. Perhaps it's the blissfully floating jellies that illuminate with many different colors, or the funny shaped fish, or the eels whose bodies move in a delicate wave like a flag caught in the most gentle of breezes. The air isn't stale, or musky. There's no threat of entrapment.

She's absolutely fascinated by it all. Even if some of the creatures can look oddly phallic at times.]

To think creatures can survive without the light of the sun...

I wasn't thinking about swimming, but honestly? Fair. Thinking back to how we met, you probably wouldn't enjoy deep-sea travel...

[ Standing in a bubble at the bottom of the sea probably isn't all that attractive for someone who doesn't like cold and dark enclosed spaces.

On the other hand, Kaito very much enjoys the darkness that creeps around them as the progress further into the exhibit. The natural light that the sea life emit make for an ambiance that's pleasant in a way he can't put into words.

...Though, some of these things look a little suggestive. He's not staring at the phallic jelly, you are. ]

There are a ton of organisms both simple and complex in structure that have lived for millions of years without sunlight. It's nuts. Sometimes I wonder how we would have evolved if our primary environment was the deep blue.

...

Y'know, for how fascinating this exhibit is, I would have figured more people would be milling about. I think it's just the two of us for a solid... [ He closes his eyes, concentrating. ] ...I dunno, half of the whole building? I can't sense anyone else around.

I wonder if another exhibit on the other side of the facility is having an event.

[Like something similar to penguin feeding? Either way Edelgard is looking at the phallic jelly, but not quite thinking anything of it just yet. No, she's merely taken by wonder at it's bright colors and the way it drifts thoughtlessly through it's tank. In fact she seems to follow it as it does.]

Maybe. It seemed a lot more lively near the pools with all the big fish.

[ Kaito can't help but attach his gaze to the Dickjelly at the same time Edelgard does. The immature notion of it looking phallic has vanished, replaced by his thoughts on what species it is.

Looks like they're both entranced to the point that they subconsciously follow its easygoing pace—at least, until Kaito accidentally bumps into her and nearly trips. ]

[He nearly trips, but Edelgard responds quickly. As his balance is thrown her arms move to catch him. She's sturdy, despite her petite figure, and holds him firmly so Kaito doesn't topple.]

Is it too dark in here for you?

[ Nice catch! While he'd normally be springy enough to bounce back on his feet after the save, Kaito intentionally stays put, leaning against her while a playful smile finds its way onto his features. ]

It's just the right amount of dark. Sorry about that. I was distracted by the jelly. Now I'm distracted by something else entirely.

Are you flirting with me?

[...Look, she has to ask because sometimes she cannot tell. Though she will slowly let him go.]

[ ...That's so cute in its own way.

Kaito takes a moment to consider her words. Coming to the conclusion that she's genuinely asking, his smile brightens and he pulls away juuuuust a bit. ]

I am. Would you rather we go back to admiring the exhibit?

[...Oh. He just. Really straightforwardly asked her. She's not used to that. Kait might actually have to wait a while as she struggles with her answer.]

That might depend if I can avoid sea-related come-ons.

[Ah, a non-answer. Her favorite.]

[ He's full of surprises!

...For better or worse.

Kaito's used to those non-answers by now, so it becomes an invitation for him to lean in even closer. ]

Oh? Then would you rather I come onto you directly?

[That was not an invitation. Edelgard freezes up. But at least he's not completely unwanted. If that was the case she could pretty much just launch him through a few of these tanks with the ease of tossing a baseball.]

...I tend to forget how tall you are until you're this close.

[A whole foot of towering over her. Perhaps he just doesn't feel as tall normally since he's so... well, perhaps "not terribly serious" is the best answer she can come up with as she remembers how small she is next to him.]

[ He's got a knack for blending in with the crowd (his soul notwithstanding), and the laid-back nature he's taken on in Gaia only helps to accentuate that. Still, at this distance it's quite apparent that he's looming over her. Or, well, he would be at full height. Kaito's making an effort to stoop down so his face is closer to hers. ]

And I tend to forget how your eyes pull me in until I'm this close.

I doubt the validity of your claim considering how dark it is in here.

[After all, the only thing that's special about them is their color, right? It's one of the few things that set her apart from her siblings. While she cannot remember their faces or all of their names, she remembers that much.]

Well that's nice and all, but I'm trying to hit on you, not lie to you.

[ That's special enough to him. But he does draw back a touch, looking somewhat put off. ]

And for the record, I can see 'em just fine.

July | Event: Waterpark Waves

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barrels back in here with three weeks' worth of lukewarm starbucks

you came back just in time to get me a pumpkin spice, right? right?

um so maybe i drank all the pumpkin spice without you.......

(ಥ_ಥ)

it's okay fam i'll buy you some more but the shipping costs might be high

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