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!

weiward: (Default)

[personal profile] weiward 2020-05-13 10:57 pm (UTC)(link)
You don't have to do it alone. You can always ask us for advice.

[ask a lan. do not ask wei wuxian. do not pass go, do not collect $200.]
weiward: (Default)

[personal profile] weiward 2020-05-13 11:08 pm (UTC)(link)
The last time I saw you was right after I took Jiang Cheng to the mountain to find Baoshan Sanren.

[he says it quietly, looking meaningfully into wen ning's eyes. of course he didn't find his mother's old master, only a fine doctor and her supportive brother.

wei wuxian guides him by his shoulders to a place where he can sit down, and then goes to prepare some tea. he brings it back with a couple of steamed buns - thankfully not made by him.]


So those marks don't necessarily mean that you're a monster. I wonder if you're a witch.
demonass: (pic#13880856)

[personal profile] demonass 2020-05-13 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It's definitely enough to knock Nero off his game as he pulls back a little, squinting as he looks at Dante with a proper "what the fuck" face. Who even says that? ]

You just aged another ten years, old man.

[ The wolf he has pinned howls in protest. Nero makes short work of it, claws squeezing down and literally popping it's skull right open. It's about as gross as one would expect--an explosion of brain bits on Nero's hand and the ground. He stands up and shakes it off like one might coffee that ended up on your thumb from an excited drink. ]

So they told you to come here too, huh?
stopfen: (A heat envelops my trembling neck)

[personal profile] stopfen 2020-05-13 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[She pauses, there's still some of her weird rolled sandwich left. A wrap, with things in. So many strange foods here she'd never heard of. Then there's a snort, a small dismissive noise.]

Yeah, a system. The farms outside the city sell their produce, we pay for it.

[Complete deadpan from the fae. One day, her own crops would have grown enough to eat.]
kingsroads: (huh what)

[personal profile] kingsroads 2020-05-13 11:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[ What a surprise, the relatively athletic vampire can outpace the scrawny nerd. Strange manages to make an effort to catch up to Alucard but he's getting easily outpaced. ]

But you're already here! Come back here!
bravers: please don't take. (089;)

[personal profile] bravers 2020-05-13 11:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[He's not entirely sure what he's expecting when that hand's going for his shoulder. He feels like a piece of shit, for sure. And he feared what would happen next. But even then, he can't exactly imagine Zack would just casually lean over and strike him. And even if he did? he'd probably deserve it. But it's not that. Instead, his shoulder's rattled around inside of its socket a little, and his gaze moves to the side. A long exhale shortly follows.

Relief.
...A lot of it, actually.

Part of him wants to ask what happened. He wants to ask why he didn't contact his parents in Gongaga. Hell... to him, the main question is how he survived Sephiroth, because that... is where he's having problems. But just the act of asking puts him ill at ease. So...
He doesn't. Not yet.

Besides that, Zack asked a question. That's far more important than looking what appears to be a walking, talking gift-horse in the mouth.
]

Yeah. ...Not like the ones back home.

[That's a. point. His gaze moves back.]

A Turnskin. But I guess a more accurate way to put its a werewolf. You, uh, know what you are yet? If Aerith hasn't already, I can go through it with you. It's kind of important that you know.
chosenside: (fancy tonight)

:>

[personal profile] chosenside 2020-05-13 11:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[Now that the surprise of seeing Lightning once more finally fades away, he gathers enough of his wits to pull out a handkerchief and holding out to her with a slight smile. Theseus doesn't seem to find her current state laughable or embarrassing, mostly just glad to see an old friend-- acquaintance?

Either way, his attitude towards her doesn't change.]


It's true, I've been fully negligent in my checking of roadside pools; I just didn't expect you there! [With his good mood not diminishing in the slightest, it's clear he's still amused by all this.]

I've clearly been wrong trying to check every stormy cloud... [If he gets punched for that pun, he'll definitely deserve it.]
shinkunochou: (012)

[personal profile] shinkunochou 2020-05-13 11:31 pm (UTC)(link)
You don’t think so...? [WHY IS THIS NOT A SURE THING...

She chews on her bottom lip a moment, trying to think.
] Another place. How strange... I don’t think I really understand, but... This isn’t Japan anymore? How— How do I go back? My sister... My sister is coming for me. I can’t miss her.
stopfen: (If I can't stop you)

[personal profile] stopfen 2020-05-13 11:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[Bullying, bulling and fart jokes. That is what she was capable of.

But those large eyes don't blink at him for a few seconds. Then she frowns, breathing through her nose. Again...]


Normally, when people turn up here. It's at the mirror house. The Coven was trying to work out why and that made your lot arrive all over the place...

They told us to explain to anyone we found. They should have asked us to get you together instead of one at a time.

[There was a slight huff to it. Someone tired, someone who didn't like talking but having to do way more than they normally would.]
jerichome: (a choice except for avoiding bad writing)

[personal profile] jerichome 2020-05-13 11:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[The deviant hunter doesn't want to hurt him?? Is that how he's managed to successfully complete so many missions? By making other deviants trust him before betraying their faith and destroying them or bringing them into police custody? No, he can't stop now, the risk is too much. If he can barely trust Markus, he can't trust the RK800.

Besides, if he gets caught now, Markus destroying him would've been entirely pointless. He... he can't let that happen, despite the mixed feelings he has about it.]


I don't believe you!

[Simon shouts that much while still running from the other android, not sure if that will actually make Connor stop or cause him to run even faster. Hopefully not the latter-- he's not the best runner, he's just a household android after all.]
demonass: (pic#13880856)

[personal profile] demonass 2020-05-13 11:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Nero's not gonna argue against that point. He can take most people talking shit to and about him, but when it involves the people he cares about is really when it sets him off. Nico can definitely give as hard as she can take it, he's not going to argue that either. She got her own fish and chips to deal with.

...Some that he may now have to deal with if they're really heading to a bar. For Nico that could mean a lot less work and for Nero that definitely means many more headaches. ]


Drinks should really be the last thing you're worrying about.

[ You--Nico. Because they both know that Nero has a beer every now and then but that's about it. ]

We got plenty of shit to do without you putting a DUI on your CV.

[ But he's making his way to the bar anyway. He won't admit it, but she's not wrong about that being a decent place for information. Inebriated people have looser lips and tend to be a little more friendly, for better or for worse. ]
killuwatt: (some legends are told)

[personal profile] killuwatt 2020-05-13 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Jin, huh?

[ Assuming that's his first name... ]

Yeah, well. You're a terrible liar.

[ Killua eyes the weapons curiously. ]

I'm not looking down on you, jeez. Paranoid much? That's a cool sword.

[ He reaches for it suddenly, and very fast. ]
shinkunochou: (Default)

[personal profile] shinkunochou 2020-05-13 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[She gives his hand a light squeeze and smiles faintly.]

...Okay. Please take care of me.

[She goes quiet for a moment, watching him curiously before she asks:] Do you have children? Or younger siblings?
jerichome: (another reference to a historical figure)

[personal profile] jerichome 2020-05-13 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[Simon can't help but startle slightly when the hand lands on his shoulder, his artificial eyes watching him with a surprised expression. Markus is happy to see him? Does he not remember what happened on top of Stratford Tower? Or maybe... maybe that event hasn't occurred for him just yet. Simon remembers the information that's been given to him, how people are from different moments of time and even worlds.

It's the only reason why Markus would be happy to see him, instead of...

...

He's honestly not sure how Markus would react then. Maybe some feelings of guilt? Some sadness? Simon at least knows that he isn't so callous to not feel anything about killing him.]


Markus, I. [It looks like he's about to say something to him, but doesn't, shaking his head and forcing a small smile at him. There's no need to burden Markus with what's going to happen. His... his cause, freeing the deviants, giving them a choice matters more.]

I'm glad to see you as well. Josh and North aren't here, from what I've seen...
livingimpaired: (Default)

[personal profile] livingimpaired 2020-05-13 11:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Congratulations, young Master. And what did you wish?

[ Yet again, he smiles.

He seems a little amused that she seems a little out of sorts, but then he's the one that becomes out of sorts after. His smile fades considerably when she names her Servant. It isn't so much affection that binds him to Gilgamesh -- that would be ridiculous.

Neither of them consider the other to be a friend. They are merely walking the same path. It's certainly is an odd feeling to hear that someone else has him as a Servant, however. ]


I suspect that he is, yes. The King of Heroes is not one that is easily ignored.
fairyherder: manhua (27-1)

[personal profile] fairyherder 2020-05-14 12:14 am (UTC)(link)
No, Jin Ling.

[ he looks confused, as if it's a strange way to address him (which it is).

though the moment Killua reaches for his sword, his demeanor instantly changes, and he shoots a hand down to try and grab it first, eyes narrowed. he's most likely not got the same speed as Killua, but he's still fairly fast. either way, despite his tears, there's something fiercely protective about the weapon in his eyes. ]


Don't touch that.
killuwatt: (up up up)

[personal profile] killuwatt 2020-05-14 12:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ Killua realizes he's misunderstood the name and will adjust accordingly. He's got no reason to purposefully say the guy's name wrong--

But he's a lot more interested in that reaction toward the sword.

Within a fraction of a second of grabbing it, Killua stops, allowing Jin Ling to grab the sheathed blade first. ]


Oh? Why not?
foxtrots: (pic#13106289)

[personal profile] foxtrots 2020-05-14 12:26 am (UTC)(link)
[by some small miracle, minsu doesn't advance more. he judges most of his boundaries on what would or wouldn't be comfortable for him, and minsu would be fine with her stepping into his personal space if their situations ere reversed.]

Most people don't live for very long. Less than a hundred years! So I thought it was better if we just jumped right into it, that way we'd have more time to enjoy together.

[believe it or not, he as once a clever and calculating creture. these days, not so much.

he's also notably still holding the vial out. it's fine, his arm isn't the least bit tired!]


The guy who sold this to me said it was his sweetest tasting potion. You can smell it if you I want. I tried, but my senses seem to be a lot weaker here.
sparkstrikes: (065)

[personal profile] sparkstrikes 2020-05-14 12:29 am (UTC)(link)
[The way he so nonchalantly climbs out of the wreckage like that only gives her a reason to grip the weapon tighter, but as both of his feet hit the ground in front of her, her trigger finger loosens. Reflexes are reflexes, and she isn't about to shoot a helpless man in the forehead.

Her eyes roam over the sword, taking it in, before they flit back to him and his raised hands, a brow raising in retort to his.]


Sure. But I've seen better.

[Has she? Not really. That's definitely the biggest sword she's ever seen.]

You trying to tell me you had no idea where it was?
nodyinteam: (yukata)

[personal profile] nodyinteam 2020-05-14 12:29 am (UTC)(link)
[Well, you won't get much quiet when this guy's around.

As she rolls up her sleeves, he does glance towards her gun show and looks impressed! Then he laughs at her response.]


Ha! I guess I could use all the luck I could get. At this rate, we might both end up forming some kind of loop of luck!

[Which would be pretty good! He grabs a long blue ribbon and wastes no time in starting to tie it up as high as he can reach. Which is pretty damn high!]

Hey, Mikasa. Do you play any sports?
trost: (047.)

wow thanks bro maybe mikasa will finally love him

[personal profile] trost 2020-05-14 12:38 am (UTC)(link)
[ He can't really fault her for what she did because he was about to try the same thing, and he doesn't expect his results to be any better than hers were. Annette has actual experience, after all. Jean didn't even know magic existed until only a few days ago. He glances at his bandaged hand. It does feel better now that it's not exposed to the air.

It doesn't make sense that they would take magic from people and bestow it upon others, so he's wondering if it's just an unfortunate condition of entering this world. Any unique ability you had is just stripped from you. Jean actually benefits from that here, because he had none to begin with. ]


I wouldn't say they took it, but I wasn't wearing any of my gear when I fell in here. That's what we use to fight back home, so if anything were to attack me now, I'd be screwed.

-- Until I figure out all this magic bullshit, anyway. [ Maybe that's something they could figure out together. ]
plasticasshole: (✦ i'm bulletproof)

[personal profile] plasticasshole 2020-05-14 12:49 am (UTC)(link)
[Unfortunately Connor does run faster, leaping over a stall that's in the way and showing no signs of stopping.]

I'm one of you! Markus helped me, I know that what I did was wrong! Will you just stop and let me explain myself?

[At this rate he's going to have to tackle Simon just to get him to stop. He has to remind himself that he's dealing with another android, it wont hurt him.]
sparkstrikes: (252)

[personal profile] sparkstrikes 2020-05-14 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
It's not. And you don't owe me anything.

[She makes a swift turn on her heel to turn her back to him, and stares straight ahead. It shouldn't sting as much as it does for her, but it's hard to watch the confusion settle on his face. She's mad, but she feels awful for him, too. Lightning doesn't imagine this is very easy, having someone suddenly thrust on him with claims that she knew him in some other life.

Maybe it was a good thing she tried so hard to keep others here at arm's length.

With that, she begins to walk.]


I think there's a decent bar a block away. We can talk there. Have a drink, too.
trost: (069.)

[personal profile] trost 2020-05-14 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
Oi. Why're you giving me shit about my magic when you can't do magic yourself? [ Urge to kick an AI in the shin, rising. He doesn't act on the impulse, but he does give Kirei the flattest of looks. Kirei's description of his powers is also so vague and slightly contradictory. It's something he's curious about, so he might ask more later on. ]

And to answer your question -- I've seen more failures than I can count. Of course I'm prepared for something like that. [ For a long time, all they had seen was failure, and so many people lost their lives each time for barely any gain. ]
trulygifted: (pic#13952538)

[personal profile] trulygifted 2020-05-14 12:54 am (UTC)(link)

( Nico just waves a hand in disregard. When they find her baby—yes, when, whether it takes a few days while they're here or a few weeks to get back home—there's no way she'd put herself behind the wheel after a drink. While they're looking for information, on the other had? Yeah. She'll allow herself a beer. )

You're kiddin', right? Some guy just called me trash, my smokes are all soaked, an' we just—came through a portal into some weird city?

( Said as if to illustrate the fact that now is the perfect time for a drink. She makes a vague gesture that sort of translates to a "come onnnn!" as they walk, ignoring the odd looks they get as they make their way over and head into the bar. It's ... yeah, it's pretty obvious they're not from around there, although Nico's already a little suspicious by the fact that the residents don't seem too surprised by how odd they look.

Something to look into, maybe.
)

Alright, I'm gettin' you one— ( And she holds up a finger, one. ) Beer to hold onto for the rest of the afternoon, an' I promise not to have more than two. That suit you?

( She raises an eyebrow, and because she can't help but be a little bit of an asshole just for fun: )

Blink once for no, twice for yes. I know you can do it.