+++ 奇跡国 - Miracle Country +++

[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!]

🌸

[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 Withdrawn, sad, the usual.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 bright and early in the morning today at the garden island, where a recording from the journal resting shows Yona and Lili clearly up to shenanigans. Yona’s clothes are folded up and tied off appropriately for the work in front of them, the plot of land some might remember from her gardening efforts. Several of the crops she planted months back have become ready to harvest now in the summer months, an exciting time for her seeing the literal fruits of her labor. It’s certainly not the most professionally grown crop of vegetables, but a formidable effort all the same. Most of all – that means it’s time to prepare crops for the fall season.]

[Yona sets down a basket of the harvested crops aside with an off, and grins at Lili as she wipes her brow.]

Okay! We’re making good progress.

Right now, we can start planting these... [Lettuce, Peas, Radishes and the like.] But - let me know if it feels like too much work.

[Lili’s covered in more dirt than Yona but her basket isn’t nearly as full. And she’s gripping her trowel like a lifeline and staring tentatively at the things they’re meant to be planting]

[Say something nice, she tells herself. So of course she says:] This better all be worth it.

[Ehe... Feel free to come on by and see what the girls are up to. Yona is here and Lili is here!]

[Things have been pretty calm recently, with time to relax at new places and everything... Which means that when you get ready to sleep tonight, and find yourselves completely unable to, it might feel strange to many who don't currently feel stressed out or worried about anything in particular. As the minutes turn into hours, it's clear any attempts to relax and get some sleep are pointless - no warm beverages or sheep counting will do the trick.



So perhaps you'll opt for embracing the sleeplessness and staying up in your rooms, alone or with whomever shares it. Perhaps you feel like heading down to the common rooms under the hotels and watch a movie, or hang out with others who might've had the same idea. Perhaps you feel like going outside for a walk - it's a good night to do that, with a bright full moon to light your way.

In any case, the following day will be declared a holiday, to account for those who might be exhausted after staying up all night. Never say Miracle Country isn't fair.]

[The first, most obviously noticeable thing: all the lights have gone out. Not only are the buildings and other spaces not illuminated any longer, but the sky is completely dark as well, no sun, moon or stars to light up anything. No matter the hour, the whole of Miracle Country looks this way, swallowed up in darkness that doesn't change.

The second thing to notice: it's not easy to create new sources of light. Are you grabbing some candles? Perhaps want to attempt building a bonfire of sorts? Using your own magic? All new sources of light created, even large ones, will glow very faintly, dimly, in a blueish light. Like they're struggling to stay there at all. So while they might be better than sitting around in full darkness, they won't fix the issue that much.





The third thing to... possibly be alarmed by: there are certain sources of light. Unpredictable, creepy and changing around, there're phrases and words written in different ways across walls, on tree trunks, on the surface of the caves, anywhere you look at. They glow brighter than fire or magic lights, shining for a while before it stops, and another phrase somewhere else lights up. Not only that, but the words they show might appear... relevant? Accusing? Sad, even? Confessions, bold statements, secrets, it'll be soon noticeable that these aren't random phrasings, but things that those here might think, even if they might not ever wish to say them out loud. Once that much is clear, it's likely easy to have misunderstandings. What if you think a certain phrase is something you believe your friend thinks, deep down? How can you know for sure? Nothing in the words shows who they truly belongs to. Perhaps it's a relief, if your own secrets are something you cannot afford to have out in the open...

In any case, it'll all be over after the weekend. Try to manage in the dark until then.]

🌸

[[Secrets in the dark~ event! Secrets list is here, remember you can ask here about anything concerning the event.]]

[Were the recent outfits fluffy enough? If your answer is a resounding yes, clearly you don't know this world well. Today it looks like Miracle Country is feeling like adding to the general cuddliness again... Or maybe there're other reasons? In any case, the result is the same. Teddy bears.

Lots of them, all over the place. In your rooms, on the hallways, at school (with proper little toy glasses, of course), laying around on the park, the bridges, even on the train seats... You get the idea. Some big, some small, there's even a really big blue penguin toy somewhere. What can you do with them? You could keep some, if you'd like. Or make a teddy bear fort. Or use them for shooting target practice. Make a teddy bear bonfire. Have a tea party. No one's judging. The bears that don't get claimed will simply disappear eventually.

Of course, if you're paying attention to the ridiculous bears scattered around, you might notice that the path leading to the Cherry Blossom Café & Candy Shop combo seems to have a whole lot more of them than any other place. If you get closer to them, it's easy to see the CBC in particular has so many of them that several are sitting on the café's available chairs, a few even on the counter. Maybe there's a point to that?]

[[Tiniest dumb mingle for Sakura & Syaoran's intro! Sakura be here, Syaoran be here]]

[So. What do you do when you're tricked into believing you should hide your powers again, and pretend the idea of having magic is laughable? You say 'fuck it' and make a bit of a statement as to how much of a sorcerer you really are.

And this is precisely what Merlin is doing. He's taken over one of the huts deeper into the forest, set out a couple of tables outside of it, and carried about every book of magic he owns over there, along with notebooks and other things. Under the curious gaze of some of the dragons that lurk in the forests, the point is to gather there and talk about magic with others. Or practice it, given it's safer to dick around with it further from where they all usually live. Or argue endlessly about magic versus bending. He's not picky.

Merlin'll have let people know of it, so you'll know in advance if you're interested in coming over to this magical meeting of sorts. There's no need to have magic skills of your own to attend, either - maybe you're just curious about the subject, or you want to watch what they'll all get up to.]

[Or maybe you still have vivid memories of Merlin setting fire to the forests out of anger before, and you want to make sure he won't be getting new ideas. Either way.]

[[Magic club/society/pick a name for it meeting! Merlin is here, otherwise mingle as you'd like.]]

[With people's memories (hopefully) back to normal, it's time for something different. This time, it's no blood ritual nor messing up with your heads that Kiseki has planned for everyone, no. Instead, it's something more relaxing this time. Fluffy, you could call it...



Everyone will be temporarily getting kigurumi, or animal-themed onesies for the non-weeaboo. That's right, you can fulfill your life-long dream of running around dressed as a kitty, or a mouse, or whatever else. Embrace Miracle Country and be an Usyagi, even!

What is the idea behind these cuddly shenanigans? Well, nothing too terrible. Hopefully you'll have fun with it. Or you'll loathe it and end up hiding in your room for the rest of the day. Perhaps you'll simply continue your usual routine while ignoring the change. Of course, should you want to get rid of them, you'll be able to, but any normal clothes will be temporarily gone from the world. But no worries! It'll all be replaced by... other kigurumis. You really can choose to be an Usyagi, if you'd like. You're welcome.]

[This new world is holding up. With the warriors fighting the monsters attacking, and the priests and priestesses giving their own power to heal the sakura, the crumbling world recovered enough so that it would not collapse entirely. The sky cleared up a bit, the buildings are now staying in place... It's tiring, though. Battle after battle, the loss of energy, people's blood being spilt. You should be able to tell by now, you won't manage to hold on forever. Something has to change. Something has to give in.

When the ground shakes, and the largest creatures so far make their appearance, it feels like the answer - they're heading straight to the biggest tree in the middle of it all. Grab your weapons, or be ready to give up your life energy, and meet them there, hopefully for the last time. It won't be the only thing to change. In the middle of the battle, and with the help of those able to aid it, the central tree's power will grow stronger, and stronger, until it overflows, its magic too large for it to contain. The tree will break, releasing a darkness that will trap everyone, swallow them into the tree itself...

... And then you'll wake up. The fighting is over, things are silent now, and you'll find yourselves in beds scattered across the usual Miracle Country, covered in sakura petals. For those who were injured, fighting or protecting the trees, they'll find that they've been bandaged up, the energy given up by others having acted as a price for the cure. Were you asleep for a while? You'll feel fine now, aside from the lingering injuries that will already start to heal faster than should be possible. You may get up, leave the beds, and look around. Everything looks normal - the tree is back at its usual place, strong and unmarked, in full bloom as always. The other trees are blooming just as pink for the day.

Don't think your efforts went unnoticed. The general peaceful atmosphere appears to make it easier to rest comfortably and heal, for those who need it. The clothes and weapons you used are now yours to keep, fixed up and good as new. The rooms at the hotel are all freshened up and sparkly clean, ready to receive their usual guests - you'll find fresh flowers set up near windows, nicer bedsheets and towels, and so on. There are picnic clothes and baskets set out around the islands, near the beds or the temporarily all-pink trees, where you can enjoy a meal with others, if you'd like. Even the Usyagi, usually distant and strange, seem cheerful today, floating around and giving away colorful balloons to people (and look around - if you get one that looks like it shines, you'll have a good dream that night).

Of course, it's April 1st! A day for celebration in this world. Welcome back.]

[[Our Sacred Sakura event ends! Happy CLAMP day!!]]

[Things seem more settled now – the last few days peaceful enough, save for the monsters on the other side of the barrier. It’s a peaceful enough night now, the stars out, the moon shining low over the sakura.

Except, something feels off. Maybe you’ve felt it the last few days: the monsters are stronger. Or, the barrier is weaker. Or maybe it’s a mixture of both. Those monsters that have broken past the barrier don’t seem to be aiming for you – but then what are they aiming for?

In the meantime, the sakuras are fading away. Perhaps it’s subtle enough to miss at first, but some of the smaller ones nearer the barrier are fading out, the petals turning bone-white. The largest sakura at the center of the city is still pink, but it’s clearly fading in color.

And all around you, things are crumbling. The river is flowing a little sluggishly, with less fish than before. The crops in the field are starting to rot from the roots outward. The buildings around you are starting to crumble.

It’s not an entire disaster, though. Those basic weapons you had at the start? They’re evolving, too – and at least they aren’t crumbling around you like everything else. No, the more monsters you destroy, the sturdier your weapons are.

But what about those who weren’t given a weapon? Now that the monster attacks are growing stronger, the barrier growing weaker, it might become clear to you that your skills are – not helpful against fighting the monsters. In fact, anything you try to do is just useless against them.

But those without weapons – perhaps you’re starting to feel what your place in all this is. As a priest or priestess to the sakura, you’re responsible for protecting them – so even if you don’t have the sword, you can always be the shield: protect the trees, at all costs, or else all is lost. The sakura need to be protected.

The monster attacks are increasing, the sakura are losing their color, the world around you is crumbling, and the clear, calm nights are slowly slipping away – are those thunderclouds in the distance? Whatever’s happening, might be best to figure it out quickly.]