Current mood:	sleepy
Entry tags:	fuzzy navel, my world is weird, ooc, plottage

OOC;
SUMMARY OF ALL THAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR IN THE FUZZY NAVEL PLOT. Mostly for our reference.

The original Fuzzy Navel scans are here.



So then! Jing told Kaito that there's someone in Orgeat who might be able to help him look for Pandora. Orgeat is the ruins of a hidden city, tucked away in an oasis in the middle of the White Night Desert. There are lots of legends about it, but the only people who know how to get there are the desert nomads (and the attendants of the Lost King, but they're all dead now >_>).

The nomads wander around the desert and Alize knows how to find them. Grenadine and Sugar are a pair of nomad sisters who met Jing when they went through the desert -- Grenadine is a knife thrower in their circus, and Sugar is her younger sister. Jing saved them both from both the Eye in the Sky (this giant flying eyeball of death, I kid you not) and from being thrown into the Millennium Stew that was being cooked for the Lost King. If you guys don't want to log this part and the desert crossing we can just jump straight to Orgeat. (Although Grenadine WILL inform them that there's nothing there any more, and will be curious as to why Kaito wants to go, so he'll need to come up with an excuse. |D)

At Orgeat, Campari's actually going to be wandering around, for undisclosed reasons. Kaito can get him alone while the others are exploring (there's a waterfall lake for swimming! :D) and explain that Jing said he could help and blah blah blah. He doesn't have to tell Campari about Pandora, just saying he's looking for a big jewel with suspicious/bloody history should be enough. Campari suggests Fuzzy Navel, hints at the suspicious activity around there, says that they can get there from Aviation, gives some vague warnings, and then wishes him luck and leaves.

So from there the group heads to Aviation, which would... actually be a bit of a trip because the desert is big and it's on the other side. Anyway, they get to Aviation, maybe run into Kirsche (who would just warn them to get out), hear some rumours on the street about God being more angry or vengeful lately or something along those lines. Further questioning would reveal a number of buildings in both that city and a few nearby ones have been destroyed by violent thunderstorms. Further further questioning would reveal that most of the inhabitants of those houses were either wealthy or had shady dealings or some kind of family heirloom, and general superstition is that they were struck down because of their greed. Of course, lightning that frequent and regular is totally unnatural, so looking around they'd eventually get pointed towards the priest at the lightbulb temple, since that guy 'knows all about' Fuzzy Navel, where God lives (which he doesn't, but hey, minor details!).

The priest is still utterly bonkers, and hasn't been able to summon the fish again since the original arc (several years ago; he'll likely only rant about fish and birds same as he did the first time around. Feel free to have Kaito complain :D). However, in the comics, you will notice that Jing actually started constructing the map to Fuzzy Navel out of random objects on the table (http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n234/halfling_rogue/Jing/schnaps04.png the head is the Gigantessa, the spiral is Fuzzy Navel, and the lightbulb is the main temple, I think) -- and they're still there, as the priest thinks Jing was some kind of child blessed by the light and thought there might be some kind of 'higher meaning' in the junk.

So Kaito can see the stuff and figure out that it's a map. He can either write it down or keep it in his head, doesn't matter. Then someone can ask the priest about the lightbulbs outside, he can say they haven't worked for years, and either Hakuba or Kaito, I'm guessing (or even Aoko by accident, which would be funny) could figure out the organ, fix it, and turn on the lights to attract the fish.

Fish shows up, the priest is ecstatic and can inform them that it goes to Fuzzy Navel if they ask him. That and the lightning rumours should be enough to prompt Hakuba and Aoko to drag Kaito up onto the fish, and off they go.

Right, so! Giant fish. Giant singing fish. With lots of little fish trailing alongside. And Alize left behind in Aviation, swearing at the lot of them for leaving her behind. :D After a while they'll eventually get to the main gate with the giant guardian guys, who have been repaired (and powered up, even).

(Near as I can tell, the guardians are meant to resemble the Japanese gods Fujin and Raijin, so feel free to have them note that or make jokes. "A legend of Chinese Buddhism states that Fūjin, the god of wind, and Raijin, the god of thunder, were both originally evil demons who opposed Buddha. They were captured in battle with Buddha's army of heaven, and have worked as gods since then.")

They can beat the guardians either by cutting/breaking the giant electrical plugs attached to their backs, or the way Jing did by making a hole in the door with something to attract the fish (Jing's comment about knocking on doors was actually an unintentional hint in this regard :D). It's up to you guys.

Then is the Corridor of Clouds, going through the thunderstorm, etc. etc. Then is Fuzzy Navel! Instead of Arak, they're greeted by a priest named Raki (yes, both those names are alcoholic drinks), who's just as sly and questionable-looking, if not more so. Aoko is led off to the girls' quarters, which have been repopulated, while the boys are led off to the electric chair room, same as Jing and Kir were. :D

While she's with the girls, Aoko will get the story of Fuzzy Navel -- the whole thing about the Celestial Sea being the birthplace of humanity, Pesca Luminosa being God and light and lightning his gift, how gravity corrupts humanity, etc. etc. She'll also be told about how a few years ago there was a terrible accident at the temple -- some heathens arrived, a pair of boys, who attempt to usurp Pesca Luminosa and destroy the Cahier Sect and the Pesca Gigantessa. The girls have been told that Pesca mustered his powers and remade himself into a new image to fight them (which is how the priests cover up the fact that it's now a new Pesca), and the heathens were destroyed, but not before the Gigantessa was lost. Luckily, the temple and the Gigantessa were restored thanks to the Pesca's grace and the aid of some mysterious supporters of the temple. The girls were also told that the LAST group of girls who were there were killed by the heathens, so the whole group is going to be all nervous and shrieky about Kaito and Hakuba being around. Aoko is welcome to try and talk sense into them -- they aren't really dumb, just very naive.

Kaito and Hakuba escape the priests by whatever means you guys want, and presumably start skulking around hallways trying to find Aoko and what the hell is going on. They'll hear priests running around looking for the 'heathens', and some of the older priests commenting on how they 'can't let it happen again' and 'the Gigantessa must succeed this time' and 'the black priests won't be pleased' (re: Black Ops) and 'it's just like when that damned heathen and his bird showed up', if they want any hints that it was Jing the first time. They'll also be increasing security around Pesca Luminosa, since they'll be expecting an attack on him.

They can get outside to the temple grounds, where they'll be able to see the almost-complete Gigantessa. Just like with Kirsche, the girls will be out looking at the Gigantessa as well (probably on a balcony instead of the ground, both for a better view and so the priests can keep a closer eye on them this time), and they'll explain to Aoko that it's a giant cloud being dedicated to God, and that with a sacrifice it will be completed and serve in God's army or some such junk like that.

The log starts here.

Kaito and Hakuba catch sight of them, make their way up to the balcony somehow, the girls start shrieking about heathens, and Aoko can try to explain as much as she can before the priests break in with a cloud soldier. Aoko is taken away with the other girls, and Kaito and Hakuba are left to fight the soldier. Things start to look bad, and then Jing shows up as Kid and helps them take out the bad guys (he doesn't have Kaito's card gun, but he knows his arm blade would be a giveaway, so he's compromising by using a normal sword. Which he'll probably pull out of his sleeve or something as a magic trick >_>). They figure out how to beat it, see the coeur with the cat mummy inside, draw their conclusions with some help from Kid!Jing, and freak out and try to go after Aoko.

Kid!Jing then informs them that the priests decided to skip the lots this time -- Pesca declared that Aoko's arrival was 'ordained' by him and that she's going to be the sacrifice. This makes the rest of the girls both confused and protesting, but Pesca says if she goes quietly they'll only need the one sacrifice, which is a subtle threat of course. The three boys go after Pesca, only to encounter a small army of priests in the throne room, and Pesca himself will be throwing lightning around at them. The priests also have some weaponry that's very distinctly from Earth, which will look particularly out of place. Jing'll tell Kaito to go get Aoko while he takes care of things there. In the meantime, Kir's off in another part of the temple, and starts to cause blackouts in order to distract the priests and cause some chaos. While this partially works, it also prompts the priests to cut the ablutions short and get Aoko in the coeur.

Kaito can run into the girls while he's searching for Aoko, and they'll point him to where he needs to go, and tell him not to worry about the throne room, because "Kid-san" and "Arak-sama" will take care of things -- turns out two of the temple girls are actually part of Arak's insurgent movement (one of them is actually the sister of one of the girls who died in the earlier arc).

Back in the throne room, that's just what's happening! Just when the fight was getting bad, Arak shows up with reinforcements. They beat the priests and overwhelm Pesca, disconnecting him from the electricity. Jing asks Arak what he plans to do with Pesca, and Arak'll say he won't 'steal from God' (kill) any more, and they'll take Pesca away -- but if Hakuba asks about it Jing'll mention that Pesca will likely die without the electricity anyway. Then he'll comment that it looks like their 'friends in black' have reached even Fuzzy Navel, and that he'll look for them while Hakuba goes and finds Kaito and Aoko.

There is fighting ALL OVER the temple AND the city now, so by the time Hakuba manages to find/get to them, Kaito can have Aoko out of the coeur (he can do it before they even manage to get the coeur in the Gigantessa, if you want, or he can do it like Jing did). Jing WILL actually be going after the couple of Black Ops trying to escape the temple (as himself, not Kid, and with Kir along with him), and while one of them gets away, I figure he can get a hold of the other and kick him around a bit for some info. He'll let the BO go eventually, but he'll warn them to watch out or the King of Bandits is going to steal their dreams right out from under them. |D; Then he'll go and check out the jewels/immortality rumours they collected, mostly notes on Reviver, some stuff about Rusty Nail, maybe even something about Sungria if we want them there. He's going to assume none of the jewels are Pandora, since they're all in the same ('discard') pile and if any of them were it would've been gone or guarded, anyway. So he and Kir take all the jewels for themselves and clear out. :D (Well, not before leaving most of the big ones with Arak to help fund rebuilding the city.)

Kaito and the others can find their way back around to Arak, who'll thank them and give them a plane to get back to Aviation (and the girls will have some heartfelt thanks and tearful goodbyes for 'brave sister Aoko').

HAPPY ENDING. Well, except Alize will be yelling at them all, doubly so because while they were gone Kirsche told her about what's going on in Fuzzy Navel and what happened the last time she was there, and so Alize has been worried sick waiting for them all to come back. On the plus side, she'll have hotel rooms and food and stuff waiting for them, so they'll be able to rest as soon as they arrive.