+++ 奇跡国 - Miracle Country +++

[It's a certain someone's birthday - not that he's told anybody - but instead of celebrating it, he's decided there's an opportunity to celebrate everyone! Once the rain has let up, at least a little, there's a giant message-board near the new houses. It seems to have everyone's names on it, and above is written -

HAVE A VERY MERRY UNBIRTHDAY, EVERYONE!

"What's an Unbirthday? Why, that's a day that's not your birthday! You deserve a chance to celebrate yourself, because you're amazing! And if you think someone else is amazing, be sure to let them know!"

With all the pens and markets waiting at the bottom, it seems to indicate that you're encouraged to write compliments under people's names. Try to be anonymous? Get caught in the act? Only compliment yourself? Give it a try!]

[And one morning, it's over. The water starts disappearing as mysteriously and as quickly as it first showed up, retreating into the river and the sea. By the time it's left the main islands' surfaces, and once people have left their shelter, the treehouses disappear as well. All should be back to normal... Except it's clear that there've been some changes.

Some are easy to notice right away: perhaps the most obvious one is that the big hotel buildings have disappeared, leaving behind a series of domed houses for people to live in. They'll find that their belongings have been placed in certain houses. If they were sharing a room before, then those people will get a house together, and others who were alone might find they've been assigned a single house for themselves, or even been paired up to live with others.

Other more blatant changes would be easy to notice, as well. The brand new aquarium, accessed via the east-side of the beach, its massive structure going into the sea itself. Like the housing areas, the aquarium is split into areas that are above ground, and others that go deep underwater. Some areas are built to hold freshwater creatures and look a lot like regular aquariums, but many of its tunnels go deep into the ocean and allow people to watch the different animals straight from the waters surrounding the place. You could even be lucky enough to spot some of the dragons left over from the past events! Among the places on the surface, there's a lounging area with a small giftshop, the more typical fishtanks, and even some open areas where you can pay a small fee to fish (equipment can be rented or bought from the giftshop) or even dive underwater, for the enjoyment of watching the many fish and other creatures, or yet again as a way to fish or hunt for prey. Just remember, the more you stray away from the beach, the more dangerous these waters become.



There's the newly added farm island which means people can ride horses around now, if they wish to, or take care of the new animals in it. A few familiar locations have been moved around, others removed entirely. The forests' caves now hold a mysterious shrine, radiating pure, positive energy.

With an addition of positive energy, comes negative one as well. The Usyagi will be quick to drop notes explaining the existence of certain trees now growing on different areas of Miracle Country, signaling potential monster outbreaks. People's help to contain these outbreaks will be needed, and of course it's not only a matter of helping Kiseki itself out. Should these be left unchecked, there's a risk of a new monster invasion which could hurt or kill those around, so adding a full-time or temporary job as part of the patrols or the guard ready to deal with these monsters might be a very appealing idea.

Overall, there're plenty of new things to see, plenty of things to do, but no one will blame you if, after weeks of dealing with the flood, you simply wish to retire to your new house and sleep for a while.]

[[The Flood Event ends! Further info on these changes to be found here.]]

[Here comes a thought…

It’s funny how the mind works, isn’t it? Always working, thoughts constantly coming in and out. Seeing something triggers a memory and a thought along with it, something that might make one smile or sad. Or perhaps it’s the possibility of something happening or whatever weights on your mind as the day pass. They are usually easy to dismiss or even forget by getting distracted by anything else that comes by.

But it’s rude to ignore them, right? So today, instead of them just being locked inside your head, they’ll be everywhere, represented by butterflies of different colors.



Each color might represent what that thought makes you feel, so they might be as generic as blue for a sad one or red for one that makes you happy. Or they could also be colors that make you feel something: if you hate the color green, that might be the one that comes along with your bad thoughts. It all depends on the person and their experiences. After all, thoughts affect everyone in a different way. Which is why the amount of butterflies that follow you around for the day really is up to you and what your mind is usually up to.

You’ll get used to it. Or you should, at least, because they’ll be there, following you, during all day. No shouting or no ignoring them will get them to go away. Have fun with that!]

[ It's a sunny day in Miracle Country, and there are likely those who want to take advantage of such nice weather. At the least, any cleaning that needed to be taken care of before has been taken care of, so what better time to sharpen one's abilities than now?

Perhaps your character might be doing some shopping or sightseeing. Either way, they may walk passed the training center.

For those who do, they'll find someone rather diligently practicing their lance-wielding abilities - thrusting it back and forth, twirling it and whatnot. You're free to either join her or merely observe her. Either way, she's concentrating rather hard, so it may be harder to get her attention than the norm. ]

[A few days after Porthos' birthday party and things are... a little sticky and messy. It's what happens after a party, after all. And don't worry, Porthos has certainly been enlisted to clean up his share of the mess. Mostly because he was Scolded by Snow.

But it seems that there's a clean-up happening throughout Miracle Country today. Or at least, encouragement. Whistle while you work, everyone? Maybe not. But there are birds chirping everywhere and swooping along where the fruit or spilled drinks are. Easy enough to dismiss - birds like fruit, right? And certainly the rodents and woodland creatures are scavenging, not actively cleaning up or anything like that.

Okay, no. The animals are definitely helping to clean. That's... interesting.

What could be the cause of all this? Well, there's a brief video actually showing Snow sweeping the front pathway leading to the new Town Hall Meeting Area, humming to herself. There are a few birds on the awning and the windowsill and they're chirping along with her. She starts singing and the birds start chirping louder, definitely singing along with her. Never forget that you actually know a literal Disney princess, everyone.]


[Feel free to use this as a mingle as you see fit! Or, if you'd like to help Snow clean up some of the mess, you can find her here.]

[It’s that time of year again! Anyone around the last few years will remember that it's a certain someone’s birthday - and time for the birthday tradition. As is typical of a Porthos Birthday Party, there’s food and drinks everywhere. Also lots of fruit. In the past, the party’s mostly been stuck at the park or beach and near the hotels… but not so this year. In fact, it seems that Kiseki wants to get into the party spirit along with Porthos since there are new areas to explore.

As if by magic – funny how that works – there’s suddenly a Town Hall - a new place for everyone to gather and meet for important discussions, or when those pesky events strike. There’s also a new arena for training, expansive and well-suited for all the warriors out there. It's about time you guys got your own place to train, right?

Not that you’d necessarily be able to tell today that these are fancy and sparkling new. There’s food everywhere, after all. And, well, the mess that comes with it. Is that a table full of cakes on the ceiling? Maybe. Anything is possible today when Miracle Country gets in the spirit of celebration. Try not to slip on that puddle of... beer? Well, let's hope that's beer.

You’ve probably been invited to this party, though. Or maybe you’re party-crashing. Or maybe you were trying to find a quiet corner to spend the afternoon and people won't shut up. Miracle Country might even help with that. Not likely to visit the beach today? Well here you are! Maybe you feel compelled to check out those new areas, or try to find where the party’s slowly migrating to. Maybe your foot's gotten stuck in a bridge and some nice party-goers are going to help you out. Everywhere you go, it sounds like there’s music and talking happening, so it might be hard to pinpoint everything down. Also, did we mention the food and drink?

Trying to ignore the party? Good luck, cause it’s lasting all day and well into the night. And just getting progressively louder and louder....

..... Did you just hear gunshots?


[ooc: this is an open log and feel free to jump in however you’d like. If you’d like to interact with Porthos specifically, his top comment is here; otherwise, use this as a mingle as you see fit!]

[This bright summer day in Miracle Country will find your characters over at the sports island. There on their own, encouraged by the ever-present floating bunnies that love pestering people to do things, or inexplicably arriving at the same place despite having headed somewhere else, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that the pool area is ready for use, and... bigger? It certainly seems that way.



People will find that the place looks revamped, with many more dangerous-looking trampolins, long slides leading into the pools, and all sorts of floating toys, beach balls, and other things to play with. You'll even be provided with proper swimwear, should you need it. What a better way to end the week than swimming and playing with others for a while?

If you end up needing to restore some energy, or simply don't feel like joining in on the pool fun, there's plenty of room to hang out. Even a mini-drinks stand! Nothing as fancy as the one at the beach, but good enough for the day. Careful you don't get hit in the face with a flying beachball, and have fun!]

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[Anyone who knows Arthur knows that he tends to get a little... upset at this time of year. Withdrawn, sad, the usual. Well, that's because it's his birthday - a date he'd rather forget about, in the end. Which is why he's rather determined to treat it like it's Just Another Day. Maybe if he ignores it, nobody will bring it up.

Which is why he's working at the flower shop like usual. You're free to visit him there, if you'd like. He'll either be working at the front or fussing over Guinevere's gillyflower (which are, thanks to Sakura's help, growing back just fine).



However, it seems that someone wants Arthur - and everyone else - to celebrate a little. In fact, it might be something your character recognizes when they find it raining flowers.

Depending on the color that falls into your hair, you'll influenced by the color. It's subtle and the effects are light, but undoubtedly there. The effect is very light, so it shouldn’t make your characters behave too much out of the ordinary – just influences general mood. It will last only for a short time before the flower will fall from their hair to the ground, perfectly harmless.

Red will make your character feel flirty & romantic.
Pink will make your character feel timid & shy.
Purple will make your character feel cranky & irritable.
Yellow will make your character feel silly & playful.
Blue will make your character feel gloomy & sad.
White will make your character feel relaxed & dreamy.

Are these some sort of flower-special from the Flower Shop? Is Merlin screwing around with magic again? Or is it just one of those random occurrences on someone's birthday? Hard to say. But the flowers will appear all day around the main island, especially close to the flower shop.]

[General mingle for Arthur's birthday. Arthur's thread is here but otherwise feel free to use this post as you'd like.]

[It’s been a lovely couple of days, hasn’t it? With the onsen, and the advice everyone was supposed to kindly get from each other thanks to Miracle’s Country little push. But the nice things don’t stop there. Doesn’t the beautiful day that it’s outside give you an overwhelming desire to express nice feelings? To grab the hand of the one you love or care about, or simply touch them? Even if you’re not the kind of person who is a big fan of public displays of affection, the feeling is still there.



To give everyone another reason to go outside aside from the nice weather, the Usyagi will be giving out invitations for a little food fair on the main island near the shops. There are many different mini-shops with food from many places and worlds. Maybe you’ll find that favorite kind of soup you hadn’t had since you came here or your favorite homemade food; anything kind happen and that’s kind of the point. Time to expand your culinary horizons and, most importantly share some love!]

((Event replay of the hand-holding event! Have fun!))

[It starts like any other day, really. It’s a lovely summer day – the sun is shining, birds are chirping. You might be outside relaxing or inside escaping the heat. Perhaps you are at the beach, enjoying the new set-up. Or in the park, enjoying the cherry blossom trees.

It is not to last, though.

You might notice that the hotel begins to lock you out. It’s sealing itself. But why? No one is allowed to get inside and if you were within your room or the underground tunnels, you’ll find yourself magically pushed out, gradually at first.

And then the sudden, complete silence follows – perhaps those with a sense for it will notice that something is going wrong. Everything is too still. There are no more birds chirping, no insects buzzing. Even the wind has died down.



When the monsters come out of the forest, they strike without hesitation: anyone and anything in their way are in danger. You might want to grab weapons before the hotel seals itself completely – because it will, in the next few minutes.

The creatures move in waves, each wave a different type of creature – wolves, spiders, bears. Then, creatures you might not recognize at all. They move swiftly and silently and without mercy. They are not real animals, more like spirits given form, come to seek vengeance and invading every place they can find. They will bite and they will claw and they will attack – but they will not kill, not if you get away quickly enough. Some of them are poisonous, their jaws dripping with it, enough to make you ill or to paralyze or to make you weaker.

Thankfully or perhaps unthankfully, they seem to be specifically targeting: they go for the strongest first and bypass the weaker characters. But it’s only a matter of time before they start coming for you, no matter how strong you might be.

The invasion will go on for the full day, without relief – not that you can know how long it’ll last. You can fight back – in fact, it will be necessary for you to fight back – but it will not be enough to stop the hoard. The monsters will not retreat until they’ve hurt you enough.

You won’t be able to escape to the safety of the hotel, as they will all lock you out, but some buildings might be open elsewhere. You might have better luck escaping to the other islands, although the creatures will follow. Do not try to escape to the water because there are monsters waiting there, too: giant sea serpents and other creatures in the ocean, lake, and river. They will linger near the bridges crossing between islands and the train no longer works.

You will not be able to heal your wounded, as magic and bending are blocked – and even traditional medicinal skills don’t seem to work. Wrapping the wounds means the bandages slide off the skin. Painkillers and herbs do nothing.

You have one job for the next twenty-four hours: survive.]

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[[The invasion is here! Here is last month’s plotting post regarding the event and remember you can ask here about anything concerning the event.]]