faileas: (Default)
aefenglom log posting account ([personal profile] faileas) wrote in [community profile] middaeg2020-05-03 03:07 pm

Event Log: May, An Inauspicious Arrival

Event Log: May, An Inauspicious Arrival

I. Boaltinn (1st - 3rd)

    Boaltinn comes around again. A handful of Mirrorbound will remember the holiday from last year, but for others, it will be brand new. In both Residential Districts, bonfires burn in central locations through the night, frequented by the residents celebrating another summer come to Aefenglom. Curiously, while last year the bonfires seemed quite segregated by human or Monster, this year, there is more of a noticeable mix at each, and Mirrorbound are invited to join the games and festivities quite happily. Characters are invited to try and jump through the bonfire's flames to burn away any poor relationship experiences, be it romantic or platonic, past or present; to aid them in this, those at the Eastern Bonfire will give those participating rune-etched accessories to protect them from the fire.

    The city has quite a bit to offer for this holiday: shared rose baths at public bathhouses and pleasure establishments that increase feelings of friendliness and talkativeness, poles draped in ribbons meant to be danced around, wrapping a ribbon around the pole to bring good luck for the summer, food stalls whose offerings are meant to be shared, and fortune-telling set up by Divination students of the Coven, who can tell your day is going to go.


To see last year's Boaltinn prompts, you can take a glance right here! Much of it, including the bonfires, baths, and entertainments will be similar this year, so feel free to use those in your top levels.
II. An Unusual Arrival (3rd on)

    A full year from the arrival of the first group of Mirrorbound, the 1st passes quietly, with no one showing up in the mirror-lined halls of the Looking-Glass House. Dates and times are important in most kinds of magic, and this is strange enough that some Witches of the Coven get together on the night of the 3rd to try a probing ritual, attempting to gather some kind of clues that could be useful in prying out the cottage's secrets. Boaltinn is the best time for such things, when the boundaries are thinner, and magic is stronger.

    Those who are awake that night at 3 am might notice a pulse of harmless silvery light that spreads like ripples on water throughout the whole city, originating at the Looking-Glass House, but nothing further happens, and the Coven receives no answers.

    Well, nothing happens in the Looking-Glass House.

    Before long, the reports start coming in: people are emerging from mirrors, regular old mundane mirrors, all over the city. Anything with a particularly reflective surface could be an entry point for someone from another world! Inhabited homes, businesses closed and locked for the night, pools of still water in fountains or the river, these unorthodox Mirrorbound pop up anywhere and everywhere, causing chaos for the City Guard (folks aren't happy to find strangers in their bathrooms at 3 in the morning) and the Coven both.

    Out of nowhere, a glint of light catches your eye; your heart thunders in your ears as your body moves on its own, your mind consumed with inspecting the source. Your reflection stares back at you, just as curious from the surface - a mirror, a pool of water, your most trusted sword, something fleeting that your mind can barely remember - then ripples at your touch. If you are one of these unfortunate arrivals, it's likely a rude awakening for you, to find yourself somewhere inconvenient, somewhere other than where you've been. It only makes sense to be confused. Hopefully someone finds you and explains to you what's happened to you.

    Resident Mirrorbound will hear a message from Miss Nessie shortly after it begins, a call to arms: "Dears, I'm quite sorry to disturb you, but it seems your fellows are arriving elsewhere than the Looking-Glass House this month! We're trying to track them all down for the usual welcome, but we could use a hand or several! If you could just bring them by the Coven, the usual spot, that would be lovely." She'll give her usual orientation and pass out Watches, but no doubt the Mirrorbound will be more helpful in this regard, with so many arriving.


III. The Goblin Market (All Month)

    Life goes on in Aefenglom, despite the addition of so many new residents. With the City Guard decidedly busy dealing with the sudden flood of break-ins (or, more accurately, break-outs?), the vendors of the Goblin Market find opportunity to set up their stalls more openly than they have since the crack-downs some months ago. They pop up all over the city, but clustered more often in the Residential Districts and the Harbor District, where there are even fewer law enforcement agents out and about to run them off.

    These sellers, while not as devoid of morals as those major players of the Black Market, still have very few compunctions when it comes to lying, cheating, fencing stolen goods, and misrepresenting their wares to unsuspecting buyers. It's also the place to find those things that are- not quite legal, shall we say. They won't say a word if you don't. If confronted, they are quick to pack up their things and slip away, however; they know this city and its hiding places a lot better than you do.

    With a brand new batch of what the natives assume are Mirrorbound, many undergoing rapid transformations into their Monster forms, many of the wares on display are potions: supposed cure-alls for aches and itches, calming draughts for the full moon restlessness, some even claim their brews can halt changes entirely! Some concoctions are meant to increase a Witch's magical ability, or decrease it, or provide them a finer control. They offer potions that they say will eliminate the need for a Bond, or temporary Bonding potions of their own that they claim are more pure, stronger, than the ones offered by the Coven.

    Claims are only claims, though. A few remedies for the pain of changing or some regular temporary Bonding potions can be found here and there, but for every potion that works, there are twenty more that have less than pleasant side effects. A brew that will cause everything you touch to turn to solid gold for up to an hour; a potion that will invert your sense of direction - trying to turn right will make you turn left, trying to go forward will cause you to walk backward; a potion that will remove all traction from your feet, causing you to slide around as if cobblestone are the slickest ice. Worse, some shadier vendors sell things more sinister, including a potion that gives you the appearance of being moderately to heavily infected by the Cwyld.

    Even if you don't drink any, the vendors are not at all careful where they're sloshing those bottles around, trying to show them off, and they all activate on skin contact.

IV. A Wilde Hunt (7th - 22nd)

    All Mirrorbound, temporary or not, are likely to feel it. Monsters are always affected by the full moons, but this month, it is more. Stronger. Instincts rise to the surface as the Sisters emerge full and visible in the night sky, and for many Mirrorbound, they are undergoing rapid transformations into whatever type of Monster they are meant to be. Curiously, the natives get along like they usually do, noticing nothing out of the norm, other than the increased agitation and restlessness from Mirrorbound Monsters.

    Monsters' aggression fades when the Sisters start to wane, but as the new moons approach on the 22nd, Mirrorbound Witches will notice their magical reserves overfilling, and will find themselves stricken with the overwhelming urge to use it, until casting spells, pushing one's magical limits, is almost a compulsion. Those who are not in proper Witch-Monster Bonds will feel it even stronger, with no stabilizing magic to consume (for Monsters) or avenues to expend magic (for Witches) other than casting spells. (For those who are interested, the Coven does offer temporary Bonding potions which can be used to help alleviate the effects somewhat.)

    The Coven Witches notice the signs, and they take decisive action on the morning of the 6th, the day before the full moons. So many Mirrorbound, likely to be so heavily affected by the lunar cycle this month, many of them coming into new features and abilities at a breakneck pace, only spells danger for the city. They barricade off a massive chunk of Wilde outside Aefenglom, largely free of Cwyld and totally bereft of farms, homes, and Wilder outposts. They invite anyone who feels the effects of the moons too strongly to control to come out for a Hunt. The hunting grounds will be open nightly to anyone who needs to work off restless energy or overflowing magic; all participants will be warned that their safety cannot be guaranteed from others, but they won't be able to harm bystanders out here.

    The woods are thick, with the river cutting through them, and full of wildlife. There is room to run and chase prey, or room to play with your developing magic. Play cat and mouse with your friends or Bondmates, or stalk a stranger. If playing games isn't your thing, there is something else to hunt out here as well.

    With the deep Wilde entering into Winter, this patch of land so close to the city is much warmer, and fearsome Shades have emerged to search for prey. These were once living beings, Monsters, Witches, or animals, who have been overtaken by Cwyld infection long ago, leaving them dead but for the infection, white-eyed and seeking out sources of magic to consume and infect. Anything could become a Shade, but the most common out right now are the ferocious remains of bears, wolves, and nomadic Arachne and Turnskins. If not killed, these Shades threaten the people of the Outer City, when they inevitably escape the barricade. Careful to limit your contact, though; anyone infected upon their return to the gates will be escorted straight to the infirmary.



    Welcome to May's Fourth Wall event, An Inauspicious Arrival! The comms are now open to comments from all registered users and will be until June 1st. Current players, if you don't want fourth wall characters tagging your posts, just say so in your text. Fourth wall characters can use this post for their own network top-levels, or this post for log top levels. This event is game canon; threads from this fourth wall can be used as application samples later and current players may use these threads for AC. As always, be courteous to each other! Let the mod team know if there are any problems and we will handle things.

    As always, please direct your questions to this thread!

lookslikeacinnamonroll: (Default)

[personal profile] lookslikeacinnamonroll 2020-05-10 10:02 am (UTC)(link)
[ Wen Ning looks uncertain, and resists saying, "well, there's at least me." ]

I don't know. But if there are, I can fight them for you.

[ Though, a man this large probably has no trouble fighting things on his own.

He doesn't appreciate being called Tiny, but... He really does need that hat. He winces as the sunlight continues to burn his skin, making the perhaps rash decision to trust this man. He nods. ]


Alright. I'll do what you say. Deal.

[ He already does whatever Wei-gongzi says. And his sister before that. What's one more master? ]
lookslikeacinnamonroll: (Default)

[personal profile] lookslikeacinnamonroll 2020-05-10 10:05 am (UTC)(link)
A mirror? [ That makes even less sense than coming through a fountain. But it sounds like she has a better understanding of what's going on here-- unsurprising, really. She always understood things better than Wen Ning did-- so he listens carefully.

At the question, he shakes his head. No, he's not sure what is happening to him. ]


The sunlight hurts my skin... And I'm very thirsty, but... not for water.

[ He also keeps hearing the thumping sound of the heartbeats of the people who pass by him. He can hear Wen Qing's heartbeat now, though he's trying not to think about it. ]
imprecates: (13)

[personal profile] imprecates 2020-05-10 11:33 am (UTC)(link)
[ There is only one being that calls her 'hussy' and can get away with it, even if it gets on her nerves from time to time. ]

Weiss...? [ Kainé pushes her brows together. ] What the shit happened to your ugly mug? [ The last time she saw him was as a book and now he's here as some middle-aged man? She scratches the back of her head. This has to do something with the magic that they have here, the whole 'witches' and 'monster' situation going on. ]

I just arrived here. Sort of.
uselessvenus: (XUBjFlV)

dont bulli or she will tell dad

[personal profile] uselessvenus 2020-05-10 12:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oh.

No end to her misfortune today, it seems. Because after everything that happened, there was also the added bonus of Gilgamesh seeing her like this. Of course it would be Gilgamesh, out of everyone in existence in every world ever. Whoever was in control of this situation seemed to be fond of making her suffer.]


It’s none of your business. Were you the one who called me out here? Send me back in this instant!

[It would make sense if she could just blame it on Gilgamesh]

And bold of you to comment on my outfit when it’s you who looks weird.

[The Gilgamesh in front of her seemed a bit different from the King of Uruk she was most familiar with, but did it really matter? No such thing as a good Gilgamesh.

So you know her vessel, huh?]
nodyinteam: (NO INDOOR VOICE ALLOWED)

[personal profile] nodyinteam 2020-05-10 01:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[As Nidai looks him over, his mind cycles through several different athletic activities that his physique seems suited for.]

Ha! I see how it is. You wanna take things one step at a time. I guess I can live with that. You don't have to accept being part of my pack right away!

Jean, huh? As for me, my name is... NEKOMARU NIDAIIIII!!! [He shouts it out.] Never forget it, even in the depths of Hell!
pinwheels: (030)

[personal profile] pinwheels 2020-05-10 01:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Rinoa's fingers tighten on the chunk of rock when she hears the voice - but as her head swivels toward it, her grip loosens, and the makeshift weapon falls to the ground by her boots. There's no way at all that such a sweet looking young boy-rabbit could possibly pose her any harm, right? Especially when he himself also seems somewhat uncomfortable...

Oh! Angelo...! ]


Hey, hi! [ Rinoa pats a hand on Angelo's rump, the dog obeying the silent command and sitting. ] I'm, um. I'm kind of new here? [ Wherever here is...! ] I'm Rinoa. And this is Angelo. I promise she won't hurt you!! Can you tell me where we are?

[ She's not quite sure how she knows that the boy belongs to this place. Maybe it's the ears. There's no one like that in the world that she knows... ]
duckflails: (dukes)

[personal profile] duckflails 2020-05-10 01:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Incomprehensible?! [Never mind the irony of him saying that word in a nearly incomprehensible voice.]

I'll show you incomprehensible! [He says, swinging his dukes at the air!] That job doesn't sound good at all. I quit!! [If he's going to be something silly like a mascot, he wants good money for it!]
uselessvenus: (XXqisvb)

[personal profile] uselessvenus 2020-05-10 01:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[At first Ishtar does not even realize that this was directed at her. This was not her name and the person calling did not even look that familiar to begin with. But there is nobody else around who reacts and Archer is looking directly at her, so she does eventually reply]

Excuse me? I think you have the wrong person here.
themogget: (020)

[personal profile] themogget 2020-05-10 01:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[Interesting, but Mogget has already surmised that most things here are going to be interesting. The magic in the air prickles under his fur like static, but he ignores it for now.

There are more pressing matters at hand.
]

The fresher the better. [He purrs, settling himself into place on Momo's shoulder without the use of his claws.]

And I'm sure you understand that I'm not carrying any currency.
themogget: (031)

[personal profile] themogget 2020-05-10 01:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes.

[Not entirely, as Mogget isn't really a cat and what he is doesn't experience hunger, but he enjoys eating fish very much and is also not adverse to lying in order to get what he wants.

He kneads his paws gently into Lavi's shoulder and begins to purr directly next to his ear.
]

What is this place?
brushworkmother: (pleased)

[personal profile] brushworkmother 2020-05-10 01:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[She whuffs, tail waving, shifting forward and making a little sort of bow- but first things first. Admittedly, she's made some hasty decisions in the past, but this is the sort of thing where not knowing is going to be a pain- and she doesn't have any kind of Envoy of help out with that (one way or another) right now. She probably still smells somewhat like fighting, and the Ark of Yamato, and flowers.

She droops a little at the news she won't be able to go back through the mirror- but then, if it would have worked, it probably would have by now. That gets a cautious tailwag- well, hopefully it's not a long explanation. Afenglom, is it? That's certainly not any of the cities in Nippon that she knows. So is it somewhere she hasn't been before, or somewhere else entirely? Hopefully the person they're going to see will explain.

On the way, though- they can play, right?]
Edited (correcting the title) 2020-05-10 22:58 (UTC)
themogget: (014)

[personal profile] themogget 2020-05-10 01:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[The goblin's attempts to shift him don't seem to bother him that much, but he lets out a soft purr at Tifa's words. He does not jump down, not with the store owner looking at him like that, but he settles his forepaws against the edge of the roof and looks down at her with bright green eyes.]

I wouldn't. That's all I'm saying.

[And it might be all he'd say, if the goblin hadn't been so rude.]

The last person who bought a potion from here grew hair all over their face the minute they drank it.
brushworkmother: Amaterasu standing on the bank, white standing out (light in the night)

[personal profile] brushworkmother 2020-05-10 02:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[This might not be home, but she's going to look after the people here as best she can either way. She huffs out agreement, and heads forward, ears up and listening.

After a little while she stops, growling- but Isaac can probably hear the footsteps of something ahead of them. Ammy glances up at him, putting one paw out- she can go circle around it, and drive it back so they can try and catch it in a pincer movement.]
themogget: (018)

[personal profile] themogget 2020-05-10 02:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[It doesn't look like he's going to comply, not right away. He stares at Felix in that peculiar way that cats have, though with enough of a spark of sharp intelligence behind the eyes to verge on uncanny, then he jumps off just as neatly as he arrived to land on a nearby stone wall.]

If you insist.

[He does, after all, want the fish.]

Do you have a name?
brushworkmother: (great honourable and wise)

[personal profile] brushworkmother 2020-05-10 02:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[She's also concerned her brush doesn't really seem to be doing what it should, so that's definitely something to sort out. For now, though, she droops, tail flopping to the ground as she turns towards Roxas. Maybe he can explain…? Though she makes a surprised sound, leaning forward to sniff at him. Is he Oina…? But he's not wearing a mask, so maybe not. What is this?]
themogget: (032)

[personal profile] themogget 2020-05-10 02:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Because I've been sitting here all day, watching what happens to people who drink them.

[Mogget is sure that the seller would much rather he divert his attentions elsewhere, and Mogget really isn't doing this out of the goodness of his heart - rather that he likes to see what happens when he warns people of things and they don't take his advice.

People can be interesting.
]

And I've seen what they're putting in them.

escardos: (pic#13507849)

[personal profile] escardos 2020-05-10 02:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, well, that's not a problem. After all, I'm already dead.

[ the laugh that follows that sentence is clear and candid, his eyes never losing that sparkle and shine that is so characteristic of flat escardos. he cannot feel kirei's growing apprehension and, even if he could, it's likely that he will have a hard time understanding it.

he turns around, smiling with the same innocence that a child may have before lighting a line of ants on fire with a magnifying glass. ]


But it wasn't the priest. Really, I'm not sure what happened to him after the battle with the Dead Apostle guy. I'm sure he'll be fine, however. When seventy percent of your body is metal, it's probably gonna be hard to destroy, right?

[ another laugh, followed by a wry smile ] It was, hm...soldiers? I'm guessing there must be a mage that's working with soldiers or something like that, but that's not really my specialty.

[ he claps his hands together, as if cutting that topic short. ] And besides, you seem like a really cool guy! All dark and mysterious like that, there's no way that I wouldn't want to be your friend!
liquidate: "see how they resemble one another, even in their plastic little covers" (pic#11036264)

[personal profile] liquidate 2020-05-10 02:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah? (well, he's never had anyone laugh before he tried killing them—wait, no, he has. there are so many ways to cope with death, and not everyone has the best mechanism for dealing with the impending kind.) That response is weird, you know. Normally people'd be nervous.

(a slink forward through the petals, intrigued as his shoulders emerge from the bath and large extraneous gills are shaken out with his hair. sensitive flesh's been warmed almost a creamy pink, ghastly pale, but suigetsu doesn't seem to notice or care. he's so damn hungry.)

You gonna' run, so I gotta' chase you? Or are you just gonna' stay put and giggle?
trost: (044.)

[personal profile] trost 2020-05-10 02:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Jean's fairly tall (190cm) and has a slender, toned frame. He doesn't play sports but spends a lot of time zipping through the air on wires, so he would probably suit an acrobatic kind of sport. ]

[ Even if Nidai looks like exactly the kind of person to yell, Jean doesn't expect the yelling until it comes. That's just not what ... regular people do. He takes a step back immediately, covering his ears. ]

What the fuck -- My ears! Do you really have to yell?!
nodyinteam: (earwax)

[personal profile] nodyinteam 2020-05-10 03:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[Nidai takes that all in. He does seem more built for acrobatics, as far as he can tell. Maybe some potential as a swimmer.

Nidai just barks with laughter.]


Of course! I can't just contain my fighting spirit when it bursts with energy. I have to let it all out! You should try it sometime, Jean.
supersoldier: (190)

[personal profile] supersoldier 2020-05-10 03:42 pm (UTC)(link)
I don’t intend to live out the rest of my life on a foreign planet, no.

[The response is a little dry around the edges, as if it should be an obvious sentiment for all the Mirrorbound, and he cannot quite yet fathom the thinking of those who believe otherwise. Though there are a few individuals of interest here — relationships he’s garnered in a handful of months, though none he would call particularly close — his obligations remain on Gaia. Some of them have grown flagging, less stringent than they should be, but that doesn’t change the fact there is work left unfinished. Strands of conflict left unresolved.

The fountain is indeed just a short distance away, easy to spot by the way yet another newcomer emerges from the water in a rush, sputtering and confused. Despite everything, Sephiroth is quietly grateful that he avoided such a graceless way of arriving.]


Leaving would be ideal. This isn’t my home.

[A man approaches without the need for them to hail someone, obviously aware of their issue based on Lightning’s soggy appearance. Sephiroth exchanges a few brief words with him, and though the conversation is short, the point is made — he’s here with another new arrival in tow, in need of something to dry herself off with.

The man fetches a towel, handing it to Sephiroth, then opens his mouth to say something more— When another splash in the background heralds one more new arrival. Kept busy, the helpful native gives them an apologetic smile and turns to help someone in a bit more need than them.

Left with a towel, he hands it to Lightning.]


After you dry off, it’s suggested that you head towards the Coven. Do you remember where it is?
fabrications: (ᴡʜᴀᴛ we are made of)

[personal profile] fabrications 2020-05-10 04:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Well, she doesn't seem surprised, and she doesn't try to deny it. So at least someone remembers that he died. It's something.

As for Akira, he raises a brow at her reaction. Maybe he should have started with that. Not for Ann's sake, but his own.
]

That's right. But even though he didn't even know Shido's name yet, he arrived in this world after me, and he's been here for a month already.

As I said, differences like these are nothing compared to others you'll encounter.
Edited (icon) 2020-05-10 16:00 (UTC)
hopticulture: (u gotta be kitting me)

[personal profile] hopticulture 2020-05-10 04:07 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't know...hard to trust someone who makes a lot of big promises for something they're trying to sell.

[But, she's a female, so she just chalks this up to typical male bullheadedness. It's not like she enjoys spending excess energy being cautious but...she does actually value her life when she can help it.

Haru may be the runt of her family but she sure isn't a sucker. And while she helps pull him back up, she does keep her hand in his if only to keep him from falling over.
]

Maybe I could try leading you someplace where you could sit down. Standing around in a puddle waiting for it to wear off doesn't really sound like much fun.
supersoldier: (87)

[personal profile] supersoldier 2020-05-10 04:10 pm (UTC)(link)
[When the alarm ceases, the silence left in its wake is nearly deafening in its own right. Her voice almost sounds too loud in the sudden quietude of the shop, though Sephiroth certainly prefers it to the constant noise.

He moves again to where she stands, noting the rune etched into the wall behind the shelf. Its glow fades, but he can still make out the complicated line work before it goes completely dull — certainly not anything he recognizes, but her touch had silenced it all the same, no doubt reacting to the magic now inherent in her body.]


...Good.

[Good job, or “good” that it’s finally silenced? Hard to say, because he doesn’t offer more than that.]

The owner of this place will probably come by to investigate what’s happened. It’d be best to leave them some kind of explanation before we leave.

[Because, you know, that’s what a decent person would do.]
radishlobbyist: (72 - fYAcvU3)

[personal profile] radishlobbyist 2020-05-10 04:15 pm (UTC)(link)
That is... not good. [ She admits so reluctantly, not wishing to worry A-Ning further by admitting to her own concern or her ignorance but she can't deceive him either. She simply grasps his arm, needing the reassurance of holding on to him as much as she hopes it will reassure him. ] I have not been told about any creature which reacts badly to sunlight and needs to drink some substance other than water.

[ Which begs the question, what does he need? Oh, how frustrating it is to be a doctor and yet know nothing about either of their changing bodies, or what they are changing into. ]

We have to find someone who can help you. Or books! There must be books here, they must have a medical library. And then we will get you what you need. [ She tries to make it sound easy, though she doubts it will be. It is never easy for them. ]