Event Log: May, An Inauspicious Arrival

[faileas]

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!

Comments

A

[redmare]

[ Chinatsu is checking out what the market has to offer as well. She's only been her for a few days and already changes were starting to set in, and Chinatsu was not. having. it. How the hell was she supposed to face anyone back home with a pair of horns sticking out of her forehead? As if she wasn't threatening enough. Her frustration and worry, was starting to weigh on her, so who knew what she needed was something---or someone-- to laugh at?

As soon as she hears the guys take a jab at himself, the redhead is barely able to contain her laughter. ]

PFft--

[ Is she trying to hide it? Not really? In fact, now she's giving him a once over, and a somewhat pitiful look. ]

[lookslikeacinnamonroll]

[ Wen Ning struggles to right himself, climbing over the lip of the fountain and onto solid ground. And as soon as he does so, he's suddenly no longer dripping wet. He looks up, seeing a woman with fair hair who he doesn't recognize, but she must be the one who dried him off. It didn't look like any cultivation handwork he knew, but how else could it have happened? There was still a lot that Wen Ning didn't know, anyway... ]

No, mistress, I'm not hurt.

[ His skin is, however, deathly pale, and there is a pattern of black markings criss-crossing over his neck. But altogether he seems fine. ]

[fairyherder]

[ he's more leaning against the sword than his father's hand because that's what he's used to, the sword was always his go-to crutch, even if it was a weapon, it was all he had. not even Xiao Shushu in all his gentleness compared, because even if family, there was always going to be a bridge between himself and everyone close to him because they just weren't. right. an outlier no matter what his status was.

so he doesn't know how to accept support from anyone, least of all someone who claims to be his father while he's still trying to wrap his head around that fact, and again thinking about that he has no parents, they're gone and—

expect apparently not? he doesn't understand. there's so much that happened... how could he even begin to describe the chaos and intrigue he's apparently lived through none the wiser. he has to get a hold of himself, to do... something. he hiccups, reaches up with one hand to really try and rub his tears away but they just won't stop, so his words are a mess between tears and a shaky voice. ]

I don't h-have parents... s-so what that I never knew them! It doesn't make me weaker!

[ it's a trained line, it's something he's repeated more times than he can recall, sometimes while crying, other times yelling in indignation. it might not be quite what he needs to say, but it's the easiest thing to say when his mind is otherwise just a jumble. ]

[twilightskey]

[Roxas holds his hand out for her to sniff, marvelling at her appearance. If she lets him, he’ll give her a few friendly pets.]

I’ve never seen a dog like you before.

[But with his enhanced Turnskin senses, he can smell her scent too. And while it does smell similar to the dog-scent he’s grown used to from his and Ventus’s dwellings, hers smells both similar and different. Almost wilder.]

Where’d you come from?

[jichengren]

[ So that's it then. Both himself and Yanli, gone from their son's life. He speaks as though he has no memory of them at all. So... Whatever it is, it must happen soon. While A-Ling is still too young to form memories or lasting bonds. From Zixuan's perspective, his son was just one month old. How much longer does he have, then? Will that change, now that he is here? Can you change the future by altering the past?

He pushes all of those thoughts and the looming existential crisis out of his mind. His son is crying, and he needs to be a strong father right now. Even if it breaks his heart to think of leaving his son, of losing Yanli, their family...

No. Pull yourself together, Zixuan. This is what you need to do, here and now. Don't think of what is yet to come. ]

You... You have one now. I'm sorry I left you. But I'm here now. I won't leave you again.

[ Is he doing this right? He's so far out of anything familiar he can't be sure what are the right steps to take... ]

[duckflails]

[She raises a good point. It can't get much worse from there! He reaches to clasp her hand.]

Thank you.

[It feels somewhat embarrassing and like being handled like a little kid, but he doesn't another viable way to deal with this. Donald nods to confirm her instructions.]

Okay. I'll let you know! ...I guess we should get started!

[He can't just stay there holding hands with the rabbit, after all. He just... tries to take a step forward. And as the foot comes down, it keeps on slipping forward, with the other foot following suit.] H-here we go!

[bitterfrost]

Part of him knows something's different, that he wouldn't be this compliant normally, not because he doesn't want Xingchen, but because he's not comfortable with the level of contact as a rule. But Xingchen's mouth on his skin as his head dropping back against the wall, inhaling sharply as a jolt of pleasure rolls through him where those teeth find his skin.

"Xingchen, I..." He inhales, tries to steady his breathing. one hand moving to slide up into the other cultivator's hair, tangling in the strands. "I ..what are you doing?" It's not judgment, recrimination, more confusion.

[duckflails]

Hey, I'm not gonna break anything! [He protests while continuing his flailing. At least he isn't near anything breakable at the moment!]

What am I supposed to pay with anyway?! I don't even have a job right now, thanks to you! [Even though they just covered that subject!]

[devilyouknew]

[It sounds for a moment like it might be the latter, as Takizawa has some difficulty getting the laughter under control. He peers at the strange man-creature through the fingers of his hand.]

Can you even run? Or will you flop about on the tile while trying to look menacing.

[Those eyes, those gills... It's weird for sure, but it isn't exactly enticing fear. It would figure that this was the first thing that attempted to outright eat him, though. The world cares little for his dignity.]

Come on out.

[duckflails]

[It's a shame, really. In another life, they could have been kin.]

I- I didn't do anything! [He sighs and then folds his arms while still being held up.] I don't get any of this.

[strongspirited]

[Stroking her chin consideringly, Sypha walks in a quick circle around him. Keeping her distance, but definitely appraising him, just to make sure he is not lying. Seeing no blood, she stops in front and nods.]

Ah, no need to be so formal. Call me Sypha.

[Pale and scared? She gets that. Trevor's got the scars and paleness, and Alucard is deathly pale too. Being a half-vampire tends to make that a reality.]

You have no idea where you are, do you, mister?

[shinkunochou]

[A place where time doesn’t matter sounds about right, but she can’t bring herself to feel very alarmed about it. She’s not a time traveler, exactly, but she has seen the passing of hundreds of years already so she doesn’t want to outright lie either.

The question of if it’s a dream or not makes her look over again and, without saying a word, she reaches out to pinch Ann’s leg hard.]

[fairyherder]

[ he sniffles and brushes his sleeve across his eyes again, anything to make the tears stop, because he feels exhausted and disgusting and there's definitely more fur popping up along his throat and hands. the whole transformation lies on top of everything else and it's painful, but no way will he admit to that, or talk about it. he needs to... he needs to calm down.

his heart does something like a painful squeeze at his father's (because he knows it is, he just doesn't understand it) words, because how can he trust that. how can he trust anyone's words anymore. it's like he's back at the temple, his life upended over his head, feeling both betrayed and lost, and he doesn't want to feel that way, not in front of what should be something he should be happy about!

it takes another moment before his shoulders sag as he takes another couple of hitching breaths, halway leaning against his father's hand, swallowing hard. this is all right, isn't it? if... if it's true.

and he wants to tell him how he died... but... the details surrounding that involves so many intrigues and misunderstandings, and if he's to believe what different people have told him about his father, he'd probably jump to the wrong conclusions at first, and Jin Ling doesn't feel coherent enough to explain everything, hell he barely understands the circumstances himself beyond that everything he knew was somehow wrong.

but he doesn't know what to say. how do you interact with a parent? ]

I...

[lookslikeacinnamonroll]

Ah-- [ He cups his hands before him, making a circle of his arms, and offers her a formal bow. ] Mistress Sypha. Thank you.

[ He tries to keep his eyes on her as she walks around him, looking a bit nervous. ]

N-no. I don't know where I am. I was just in Yunmeng a moment ago.

[supersoldier]

[Not an asshole, is it? While that certainly leaves an opening for a snide remark, Sephiroth is also not that big of an asshole to take the shot — and so he doesn’t, merely waiting patiently. There’s no argument to be made on his end, and in fact, once she’s through, he follows her out into the cool night air, offering a mote of advice.]

Then you’ll need to find work. The Coven will be kind enough to provide you with free housing, but the rest you’ll have to manage on your own.

[And there’s plenty to do month to month, though the jobs range from practical to ridiculous to boring to dangerous.]

I assume those swords are not just for show?

[jichengren]

[ Zixuan can watch in real time as more fur grows across A-Ling's neck. It's worrying, but he understands it somewhat, due to the feathers that have sprouted along his own arms and across his back. Why he is a bird and his son is... What, a dog? Those are definitely doglike ears... Why they're different, he doesn't know.

(There's a lot about this scenario he doesn't know, or doesn't understand. He's trying his best to muddle through despite all that anyway.) ]

You don't have to tell me anything. [ He'll want to know eventually. He'll want to know everything. But he can understand that A-Ling is perhaps too emotional to explain. And, if he's honest, he's not exactly prepared to learn how he will die. ] You don't have to say anything. But if you do, I will do my best to listen.

[ The night hunt is going on around them, Zixuan can tell. He can hear the animalistic growls of people-cum-monsters running through the forest, chasing prey. It seems silly, how he had looked forward to the hunt, before he had the fortune of running into A-Ling. Who could focus on a hunt now, when faced with their own son all grown up without them? ]

Can you stand? We should go somewhere more private.

[aremnant]

[ The soft sound of amusement leaves his lips at Cloud still refusing him as family. Doesn't mean he's going to ever stop. Sorry not sorry, brother! ]

You care for him, don't you.

[ He doesn't frame it as a question but more as an observation. Almost like fact. ]

Some part of you does... or did... that's why you're helping me, isn't it? Because I'm part of him. Even if that part is not so nice.

[ Words fall softly from his lips and a hand lifts to blindly brush at the side of Cloud's face in an uncharacteristically gentle way. Really, he expects a jerk of his head away but what does he care? ]

The only time you show me kindness is when I'm falling apart at the seams. Like before. When I died in your arms. You held me then and you carry me now. Deep within you, brother, you have a heart like I could never have and it makes me sad. I see why they love you. Why they fight alongside you.

[ He drops his hand back to the blond's chest and lets his eyes fall shut again. ]

I wish I could feel, too. Just once. Something other than all of this.

arrival

[weiward]

[he's really

really

really going to have to start drinking at home. wei wuxian was just heading that way after last call, tossing peanuts up in the air one at a time to catch in his mouth. he'd almost broken his own personal best record when he suddenly crosses paths with one jin zixuan.

the peanut hits the ground, and wei wuxian, golden-eyed and shorter than the other man might remember, grimaces.]

Believe me, I would happily return you if I knew how. [maybe. at least if he's here, he's away from shijie.] But you're in Aefenglom for now. A bunch of people have been showing up here in weird ways, so just relax.

[weiward]

[he sighs, shoulders lifting and falling with the action. he'd only just started experiencing people's scorn before he ended up here, had only just started falling apart and taking things apart as he did. a demonic cultivator but not yet the yiling patriarch.

he feels like he's understanding more and more of the story and reasons why he ends up at the edge of a cliff. but he sees that look of worry on the other's face and smiles quickly to ease it.]

I didn't forget. You're just sort of from the future for me. [wei wuxian turns away long enough to take a blanket from the bed.] Here. You can wrap up in this while your robes are drying. I can fix some tea for you too. Lan Zhan always keeps plenty of it.

[shithogs]

['Free housing' sounds too generous to possibly be true, and even as she steps out into the night, she shakes her head.]

What the hell is a 'coven?'

[Or Coven with a capital 'C', in this case— either way, unfamiliar as the term may be, sounds like they're in some position of authority here.]

I don't need charity.

[Better than foraging, too. She's not used to opportunities for honest work.]

And no, they're not for show. Assuming there are things here that need hunting, I'll be just fine.

[strongspirited]

[Sypha dips her head in acknowledgement, though she doesn't give a bow beyond that. What even is that? It, coupled with his attire, reminds her vaguely of one of Dracula's generals. She hadn't gotten that monster's name before killing her, though. So, her thoughts are 'vaguely Eastern,' from the land of Qin.]

I'm afraid I don't know where Yunmeng is, but I can assure you that you aren't there.

[She does smile now, gently.]

You've been pulled to a far away place. Not for long, I hope. It's been happening a lot lately. Right now you're in the city of Aefenglom. On a world called Geardagas.

[kindlymeant]

[ His reaction to her words piques her curiosity, but she's swiftly distracted from wondering about it when he moves to bring her up. He's the first to respond so to her curtseying, and surprise has her momentarily gawking, mouth opening and closing, opening and closing as she tries to discern whether she ought to apologise or not. Thinking clearly isn't made easier by his sudden closeness. He is not rough with her, but the unexpectedness of it has her stiffening, alarmed.

But his countenance more flustered than scornful, and her alarm eases. He is simply very unused to such things. Different customs, different cultures. Something else to keep in mind. So much time spent honing her own realm's courtesies, and now she must learn more.

Well, she tells herself, that is at least a challenge I am suited to. ]

Stiles. It is nice to meet you, as well, [ she says, and she smiles sincerely enough despite her surprise. ] I've had so many questions, I doubt I could ever remember them all. [ Nor would she want to shove them all on him. Indeed, faced with his invitation, her mind runs blank. She's quiet for a short spell, thinking. ]

I... understand that our - that is, those who arrived in the same time frame as myself - circumstances may be a little different from those who have been here longer. But you have spoken to those who have came and went, and I wonder... Was there anything here that indicated to them that they might leave? A warning, perhaps? Or did it come as suddenly as their arrival here did?

[kindlymeant]

[ A mortal body? Shock flickers across her face, quickly reined in. Are there immortal bodies, where this woman hails from? It almost seems too much to believe, and yet compared to some things she's learned here, she supposes it is just another strangeness on the pile.

If nothing else, she's glad to hear a favourable response to what she said. It means she's learning. Hopefully. The woman is well informed, or certainly seems so, though if Alayne has guessed correctly she hasn't been here much longer than her, if she's been here longer at all. ]

Do you have experience with magic, my lady? Is it similar here?

[kindlymeant]

[ Word is slow to reach the Vale, and Petyr Baelish - father - kindly does not speak to her of the place often. While Alayne's heard that there's been unrest in King's Landing, there's been unrest in King's Landing for so long it hardly seemed like it could be anything new.

This is clearly new. ]

What? But - you're the queen!

[ Which is not to say Sansa is unsurprised. She is shocked, yes, but she knows Cersei far too well to really be surprised by the news. Petyr had alluded to the Queen Regent struggling, but as the singers said, lions still have claws.

Reaching out, she takes Margaery's hands in hers. ]

I am most sorry to hear it. Your family will surely aid you, and the High Septon - he'll never believe it. He can't.

[kindlymeant]

They have lessons, [ she says, nodding. ] I've learned a little, but I think they may be a mite overwhelmed with our unexpected arrival. And there's so much to learn... [ Alayne is an able enough student, but starting from the very beginning across the board is a singular challenge. ]

Are you a witch yourself, my lord? [ The words are said a little hesitantly; she's still not sure how polite it is to ask. ]