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

playing the timey wimey shenanigan game

[meteodrives]

[ The question is still on the tip of her tongue when Kadaj finally confirms who he's talking about, and it's then that Tifa makes the connection, even if it's a flawed one. His eyes aren't just the mirrors of Sephiroth, they are so similar to Cloud's too. The Mako? Or...worse.

Worse. She feels it, even if she doesn't have confirmation. The eeriness of this man sets off every alarm bell in her head. That isn't the important piece, though. ]

Cloud's--

[ She knows Cloud is here; Aerith told her. That this man considers him a brother despite dying in his arms... No, something's wrong here. ]

I can tell him when I find him again. You don't need to.

[ It isn't said unkindly, isn't even said with much emotion. But there's a firmness in her voice that practically screams: Don't touch him. ]

[purposefulnonsense]

Being that he is from before the time autonomous figures were even proposed as a concept, robot is a word that means nothing to Hythlodaeus. Still, there are more than enough other words from which he is able to paint a picture in his mind of Mettaton's passion. An actor who feels a calling to entertain. A lover of the theater.

"How fortunate that they have, though why they would ever have wished to keep it from the masses, I cannot comprehend." Yet another way in which this place was strange to him. Still, he is glad that, for whatever reason, they seem to have changed their minds on the matter. Just as he is glad that there is opportunity here for a soul bound to a concept to flourish and pursue their dreams, for such is how he sees Mettaton; for an individual so vibrant to exist, and to have a body that is both inorganic and organic, and so heavily favoring the former, such is the first and only impression of the other's physical nature to imprint itself upon his thoughts.

He wonders, briefly, what his new friend would look like, were he to truly see him. Alas, bereft of his natural abilities, he cannot. As much as he misses seeing the world as he is accustomed to seeing it — and he misses it dearly, indeed — for now, he can only perceive the physical.

"I would enjoy the chance to see a performance of yours, if you would have me." Will it be the same as in Amaurot, he muses quietly, the floor upon which the actors play their roles set into the middle of the audience? Or will it be different, as so many things here already are?

Truly, there is only one satisfying way to find out. He shall have to go there in person, and see it for himself!

[drawnbythesword]

[Asbel's reflecting back on what exactly happened before he met up with Hubert. He was in his office, and then his vision got hazy, and then suddenly he was here... So it's the hazy part that seems to be the mystery here.]

Did you head get all fuzzy too? Before you realized you were... wherever this is, I mean.

[gynvael]

[ Geralt lets out a breath and starts moving through the woods again. He doesn't want any more attention to his ears or his teeth. He knows damn well he's not the only one with these changes, but they're—

A grunt is all Jaskier gets in the end. Truth be told, he was expecting more heated anger. Even from Jaskier, who's hardly one to stew on old grudges. He knows. He knows he'd been shit to him. And Yennefer. Somehow he's fucked it up with Cirilla, too, despite not even having ever met her at all.

It would be easier, he thinks, if Jaskier were angrier with him. ]

No. [ He sniffs the air, listening for any footsteps or twigs snapping. ] I'm not getting paid to hunt them.

[gunsmithed]

[ There's a pause as Percy realizes he's having his entire name echoed back to him again, and he can't help but let out a quiet snort. He really should know better than this by now. ]

Just Percy will do.

[ Whether or not they've been lead about by the gods is a different matter, and one he's choosing not to comment on. Percy has his own opinions there, but he's also spent enough time around a cleric to know to leave it be. They have their faith, he can respect that. ]

It's dangerous for everyone here. The infection and all. [ Another pause. ] What was your purpose?

[eyeforaneye]

That's a deliberate misunderstanding of what I said.

[ PSSSSS ]

At least if you're telling me you haven't seen me in some time then our timelines are close to matching up. What do you remember last? [ pssssssssss ]

And I know what I look like. Should I tell you what you look like? [ Don't start with me, man, not after what happened to my china already. ]

[gunsmithed]

[ Good lord, it's like he never left. Percy's breath leaves him in a long sigh as he finally reaches Grog's side and carefully goes to pull one of those massive arms away. ]

Grog. You don't need gold. What would you even do with it? It's too soft to be useful. Your weapons would dent immediately.

[ As if that's the issue at hand. Percy tugs a little, more than aware that if Grog doesn't want to go, nothing on this plane or any other will budge him, but he has to at least try. ]

[gunsmithed]

Is it?

[ His tone shifts to mild, somewhere between sardonic and vaguely curious. She seems very certain, but then Percy's never really had the chance to do much in the way of upgrading. Usually if something needs improvement, he starts back over from nothing. Such is the way of explosives, unfortunately. ]

I can't say I've done anything other than the former.

[ His eyes flick briefly to the weapon under discussion, then back to the woman as he turns to face her properly. ]

What would you make of it, then?

[lapapesse]

I... suppose that makes sense. [All things considered, after all. But he manages to give somewhat contradictory statements, and it does catch Makoto's attention. He doesn't care, but he wants her to know if she tells Akira?]

If he asks about it, I won't deny him the knowledge, but I'm not going to burst down the door simply to say that. [That's how being a teammate works, generally.] ... Would it really change things if I did tell him?

[gunsmithed]

[ Technically he is, though the situation is a bit more complicated than that. It pulls a huff of breath that isn't quite a laugh out of him. If she's only just arrived with the current madness going on, it seems impolite to drop all of that onto her unsuspecting head. ]

I am yes. I wouldn't say that I'm particularly good at it, though.

[ That much is true, at least. An he hadn't been even before things had gone a touch sour. Oddly enough, it's not something that bothers him much. ]

[trost]

[ Dryly: ]

It's mental exhaustion from having to keep talking to you.

[ Because it's very important that he clarifies that he is, indeed, physically strong (except, he's really only as strong as your average fit person)! ]

I'm guessing this is what you did back home?

[anbu]

[Decisively, Itachi shoos the crow out the window, where it takes flight and swoops up into the sky, disappearing on some unknown errand. He's no longer looking at Deidara, but his reply remains cool and composed.]

You did. My brother survived your encounter with him.

[Not to rub more salt in the wound... but it's true.]

I never made that suggestion. You're reading into the words due to your own defensiveness.

[Itachi turns around, black eyes sweeping over the other man.] Follow me. [Then he makes for the door, winding a path back through the cramped and unoccupied dwelling — someone else can deal with the mess of the bathroom, it's not his responsibility. For now, he's hoping Deidara will just do as he's told and make this easier.]

[meteodrives]

[ So the bond isn't something to do spontaneously. She can't just...offer to help someone that way without considering the consequences. That's good to know, though disappointing.

Tifa knows Cloud's working over something, chewing on it, and while she can't begin to guess at what it is - if it's something she should be worried over or if it's something Cloud's still mulling out for himself - she doesn't chase after it. The slew of questions will be enough, she thinks, without it becoming too personal.

She shakes her head. ]

Don't be sorry. I won't ask too much right now. I'm just hoping to get a good grasp of what I can.

[ A bond is going to be necessary. She just wants to work out what she'll need to do for it to be a good one, and what the consequences will be of having one with someone she cares for or maintaining some kind of polite (professional?) distance from. (As if she ever could, with the way she wears her heart on her sleeve so often.)

Her hand is loose in his, more amicable. ]

When you say touching-- [ Oh boy, here it comes. ] You mean like this? [ She indicates their hands. Never mind, this question isn't too awkward, right? ] You can just pass it off? Or is there some kind of spell involved? And...

[ This question is harder, she realizes, a knot in her stomach. ]

Are the changes reversible? [ She isn't worried about herself. ] Can a 'monster'... [ She's growing to hate that word. ] ...be kept from changing at all?

Now I am imagining him wrapped in a giant length of cloth. Like a chiton, or himation. Or a toga.

[purposefulnonsense]

"I suppose the primary needs of living are the same as in any place. Sustenance, and shelter." Lifting his head, the Amaurotine looks with sweeping gaze over the swath of buildings situated in their proximity. "...The latter, I expect, will be more difficult to find than the former, for one of my size."

Would that he could create a dwelling that would be suitable for his use. Unfortunately, his ability to create is... diminished. Gone, along with his other notable and much-enjoyed talent.

[trost]

[ He has never been very creative at insults. The shopkeeper, who really needs a sale, takes this as his cue to keep hard-selling Jean that love potion. He tries to grab Jean by the hand to smear a sample on him, but Jean is quick to step right out of his reach.

'Just try it once, sir! It's the real deal! The girl you like might even start noticing you!' ]

Don't touch me, asshole. I don't have anyone like that! [ Or rather, he's come to terms with the fact that he has absolutely no chance and not even magic can change that fact. ] Go bother that horned girl instead. She's clearly so bored right now, she might need the distraction.

[ Chinatsu really should have just walked away from this scene, because the desperate shopkeeper turns his attention to her now, trying to take her hand and put his dodgy love potion sample on it. ]

[despairless]

[Definitely did dodge a bullet there: Freya is a good person, and she won't hurt anyone, so long as they're good people. Then again, even the bad people she's not always the most virulent against. She figured out how to work with Beatrix for the good of their group, after all.

Shades, and other mindless, violent creatures also don't 'count' on her more harmless scale. These things are a threat, anyway, despite how sad their existences seem to be. Dead creatures, animated by magic, cursed to a life beyond death... it's only kind to put them down, honestly. If she could prevent them from being infected in the first place, she would, gladly, but the damage here is done.

Luckily, Freya's bouncy, semi-aerial fighting style gives her a good vantage point that helps to give her yet more advantage, but when she peels away from her competition, she realizes she might have gone slightly the wrong way. There's nothing making noise this way, just yet, she will have to press a bit further on.

However, once she does find it, leaping from a treetop and starting a battle by driving her lance down through something's neck from above is a good start. Even if the landing is a hard jolt that slams up her arms and legs and makes her teeth clack shut. Must be one of those things she lost, in part, when she came through the mirror... maybe she'll look into magic later on to emulate it. Or at least soften these landings. If she comes down wrong, now, she could break her ankle.]

[exsoldier]

Nice to meet you, too!

[ It's like a breath of fresh air to meet someone who's so instantly friendly, Zack has to admit. He's had a lot of difficult conversations since coming here, mainly with people he knows from home, so something less complicated is a welcome change.

Not that he hadn't treasured seeing Aerith and Cloud again, but it had also been a lot. ]

You know, I think I did hear someone trying to advertise something like that. Over this way...

[ He turns on his heel and leads her in the direction of a tucked-away stall, glancing over his shoulder even as he navigates the busy area. ]

Guessing you're a... witch, then?

[trost]

[ Of course his coffee would explode the moment he sits down with it. With the hand life has dealt him so far, it shouldn't come as a surprise. Jean lets out a shocked yell as the hot liquid and shards go flying everywhere, getting up from his chair and almost falling over as a result. ]

What the hell?! [ His clothes are definitely drenched with coffee, and he's scalded a part of his hand, but he's thankfully mostly unharmed. Here would be where he would usually make a harsh comment directed at the culprit, but Annette looks so genuinely apologetic that he decides against it. Also, Jean tends to be softer on kind-looking women who aren't Sasha.

There's a soft hiss in pain as he holds the scalded part of his hand, but Jean doesn't make a big deal out of it. ] I'm ... fine. Just gonna have to wash this shirt.

[ It's his only one right now. Jean straightens it with some disappointment in his face. ] Was that your magic?

[exsoldier]

[ Zack has so many questions that he doesn't even know where to start, but Aerith's presence alone is helping to keep him calm and centered. He lets her tug him forward by the hand, following along even as he studies their surroundings with a careful eye. It's not like he's forgotten all of his SOLDIER training, even if he spent the better part of five years in a basement as a science experiment.

While he would prefer to go somewhere he could dry off and maybe even get a chance of clothes, he isn't going to argue with Aerith's decision. A park works just as well. Once they get there and find a bench to sit down, he heaves out a breath, relieved to be off of his feet. ]

Aerith... [ He has to get the first word in this time, and his expression will show how much he's matured since the last time they saw each other. ] I want you to know, I never meant to disappear on you the way I did.

[ She'd mentioned different places, different times. Maybe she already got the news that he'd been killed in action, or maybe he'd been painted by Shinra as a deserter and a betrayer.

Still, he needs to say this. If she lets him, he'll reach out to grab both of her hands with his own. ] I'm so sorry.

thanks computer for sending my tag before I was ready

[trost]

The more I learn about this place, the less sense it makes. [ He's had to register the existence of magic and monsters and is also now painfully aware of the very real danger of exploding for no reason. He's got no mental resources left to try and make sense of time travel too. ]

If you were here four months ago, though -- Do you ... know about Liberio? About the rumbling?

[ Because all that happened way less than 4 months ago, and though Mikasa was there for all of it, he's wondering if this is a Mikasa from an earlier time. It's really a lot to get his head around. ]

[thatsamoray]

[His hands are there to keep him in place, of course. He found such a fun target, he wasn't going to just let him get away. He could wrap him up in his tail, probably, but then they couldn't go anywhere else! He would have to save that for later.]

Eh? I can eat you? [he perks up, looking eager, almost like some excited fish-puppy with ridiculous teeth]

[He pulls Crow's head in closer and slightly down with his hands. There are so many fun places to start but the first place is...]

[... an ear nibble!]

[barbeardian]

[ The vendor is pretty reluctant to go along with Grog's suggestion of a "test run" on a sword of all things, but his enthusiasm and size--and maybe just a bit of luck--manages to convince them that he can show his friend the weapon as long as he doesn't take it out of sight.

Maybe they just don't want to see what happens if they manage to make the huge guy with a battle axe mad. Either way, Grog proudly hoists the weapon up and turns it to present to Nico like it's a nice new toy to play with. ]

It's not a big deal! You just hold it like this, right?

[ And at least he does keep a grip while trying to give her the hilt end of the piece. ]

Get a good hold on that end there. Both hands. Don't squeeze it too tight. Just so's it's comfortable.

[unsacrificing]

[a soft little smile. it's good to hear that sylvain formed a genuine, real connection with a woman. and with bernadetta of all people! he's glad she has someone to turn to and keep her grounded.]

What's it like? Living with him?

[gale_arc]

[ Okay yeah that's definitely not a wolf. Though a glare like that might send even a wolf running. Or a feline turnskin like himself, for that matter.

And he more than takes the cue; Hisui is quick to scramble off of his would-be prey and out of the way. Monsters in this world are still people, after all; hard to really deny that when he ended up one of them. And pouncing on people, horns or not, is probably looked down on here.... ]

Hey, uh... [ This is awkward. ] Sorry 'bout that. I thought you were one of those shades or somethin'.

[ He's not about to admit to being a little over-eager to pounce on something, though. Absolutely not. ]

[distantsniper]

[Come now, Annette, is she ever actually that nice?]

I'm not exactly in familiar territory. It's better not to just walk around so visibly.

[Life lessons from a Knight of Seiros. She is also Not Sorry.]

Have you been here long?