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

i

[lostinshadows]

[The sudden voice by his ear does have him tensing briefly. Being a rabbit is unfortunate, especially when his two lop ears just twitches when he realizes that yes, that is a cat on his shoulder.

And yes, it is talking to him.

He blinks a few times, but considering what this world is--]

Sure thing. Guessing you're hungry?

[With that, he just...begins to walk in the direction of the fish market. With the cat on his shoulder.]

[bright_moon]

A familiar voice is so very welcome! Xingchen immediately pauses, then turns with a much more relaxed smile. He doesn't mind back-tracking a bit if it means he's not alone, and this is certainly a friend!

He inclines his head a brief greeting, arms moving up to complete it with cupped hands.

The white fur is new...and catches his attention more than is warranted, perhaps. But he shakes his attention back to his shijie's child.

"It is good to see you again, Wei-gongzi."

[fallingcrows]

H-hey, come on! Get out of my way, I'm gonna teach this dude a lesson...!

( but to no avail, ryuu is just too big and crow is a dumb idiot who eventually has to let go, much to the relief of probably both the purveyor of garbage and the nice dragon man. already, the vendor is hauling his ass away from what could turn into a scuffle between crow and not-crow, probably thinking it's not worth it?

meanwhile, crow is too immersed in laying a smackdown on the nothing he's grabbing. he nudges his forehead into ryuu's chest in order to push him out of the way, but again--- he's mostly loud noises and very little bite right now. at least in his imagination, he's gotten his wish?

and then he wakes up (read: he opens his eyes and realizes he has lost). )

... continue on together? With you?

( he looks down and away, making very mature grumbles under his breath. )

Fine, dammit. I guess this is better than nothing. Besides, no one's taking me seriously around here... so you were looking for some kind of toothpaste or what?

( sob. )

sasuke is peak sasuke and I'm so proud of him

[kindlymeant]

[ His brusqueness may have immediately cowed her, not terribly long ago. Unfortunately for him, Alayne is less meek - he has not been cruel yet, and those might be low standards, but she knows better than to take such things for granted. ]

My name is Alayne, [ she replies readily enough. In a way, it's oddly refreshing that he's so to the point. ] I am newly arrived, and attempting to find my way around.

[ Her gaze shifts from him to the shop window. He's been lingering here for some time - it was one of the reasons she approached, truth be told - but she's yet to puzzle out why. ]

You... do not seem best pleased by their offerings.

[doomflagdestined]

[Someone is being sarcastic. Which is obvious...to everyone except for Katarina. Katarina is so hyped on her own success that the tone of his comment passes her by. She smiles.]

Isn't it?

[And then she stops to think.]

You know, I actually started learning magic to protect myself! It might be a long time before I can make a bump big enough to trap someone, though.

[Whoosh. Right over her head.]

[sparkstrikes]

You too.

[That much goes without saying.

But now is not the time to be exchanging compliments, because the Shade aims itself at Tifa and Lightning isn't about to let it strike. Even without the magic, she can manage a slice through the air, cutting off the attack and blindsiding it enough that it fumbles just as Tifa's follow up connects. The Shade zips back and hits the ground, splattering black sludge into a pool around its body.]

Nice one. You fight these things a lot?

[Nice, except that the Shade is already pushing itself back up, oozing and dripping whatever the hell it's made up of. Slowly but surely, its claws scratch against the ground as it crawls its way to them. Lightning sees it and raises her sword to prepare for another attack, trying again to imbue it with magic.]

iii, a, GOODBYE WORLD

[eyeforaneye]

[ The market is crowded, full of sounds both familiar and unfamiliar, but there is one voice that pierces through all of the others. Not just due to sheer volume, impressive though that may be, or even the strikingly annoying quality of that telltale enunciation. That is a voice he knows as well as his own, unforgettable, and Sasuke immediately abandons his own shopping to turn on his heel and seek it out.

His hand moves even before his mind seems to fully register it, swiping that bottle from Naruto's clenched fingers with blinding alacrity. Sasuke stares for a moment, one visible eye slightly widened – the other is largely obscured by a new, habitual styling of his hair – as he's forced to look down. This person... Shorter than he remembers, right arm present at his side, tacky and garish and every bit as visibly and audibly loud as he should be. It really is him...

By contrast Sasuke is clothed in black, a dark cloak obscuring a missing left arm and the majority of weapons he's want to carry on his person at all times as he looks him over in quiet shock. ]

Naruto.

... you idiot. [ Not the words he'd planned but the only ones he can manage, mind suddenly racing. He's younger, isn't he? From a time before Sasuke's in their shared world. How much does he know? How will he react upon seeing him? Should he assure him he's no enemy first? ]

a! guess who (it's me)

[doomflagdestined]

[Katarina had just arrived herself, and boy was she confused. Especially when a strange dragon man just appeared out of a geyser! This place must really like taking people to random places.]

[The dragon man looks really confused, and starts asking questions. It takes Katarina a little bit to realize that he's asking her of all people. She's just as confused as he is!]

I don't think so. Just me.

[She looks...incredibly non-threatening. Although there's a sword strapped to her side, otherwise, her attire is very noble. She's wearing a rather long dress that doesn't seem practical for fighting.]

iii, b, AN UCHIHA SANDWICH

[anbu]

[Impossible to miss the head of bright blond hair, even more impossible when attached to an outfit of gaudy orange. Itachi instinctively veers away from the circuitous route he was taking through the market, avoiding foot traffic by sticking to shadow edges, and walks up directly behind Naruto.

Close enough to overhear that bizarre conversation. Force of will and urgency allows him to look past it, although black eyes study the conspicuously puffy back of Naruto's jacket.]

Naruto.

[Meanwhile, Itachi's familiar - an overly exuberant crow - swoops in to land on the awning of the stall with a noisy caw of hello. Having any traumatic flashbacks yet?]

You should be wary of making purchases here.

iib, i have to

[coherer]

(at the tap on his shoulder, jonas—who is minding his own goddamn business with a satchel full of herbs for some ungodly potion he's been trying his best to concoct—glances back to get an eyeful.)

–oh, christ.

(sorry for the visceral reaction, but naruto in his jammies looks like a drowned cat (sorry kurama) and is dripping cold water everywhere. that'd be enough to cause concern, as this young witch is generous and helpful when it suits him... but that day is decidedly not today, preferring to give the blond a withering stare instead.)

"Borrow" them? First off, no; second, why are you so wet?

arrival

[aremnant]

[ Imagine the SHOCK AND SURPRISE to come across this particular familiar face! How long has it been now since he last saw his brothers? Three...months? Or is it four? Time is just so difficult to keep track of here sometimes! But it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter because the moment that Kadaj spots that familiar head of silver hair, he smiles. Oh he's just so delighted! ]

There you are!

[ He cheers rather happily at that as feet carry him over to Yazoo, eyes bright and green with gentle laughter bubbling from his lips. ]

I thought you'd never show up. I've been so lonely here.

Shamir Nevrand | FE3H | Monster (Harpy)

[distantsniper]

[1: Arrival]

[You know what isn't necessarily a great thing to do to a knight-slash-mercenary-slash-assassin? Kidnap them and dump them into an unfamiliar world.

Oh, she'd managed to see her own way out of the bathroom she'd tumbled into, without even waking up the inhabitants of the house, and before they could raise any kind of alarm, even. Not that she thought her skills were getting rusty, but that sure was not how she expected to spend a good twenty minutes of her time.

Once she's out in the streets proper, she has to take a moment to find an inconspicuous spot to spy on the goings-on. It's only once she sees a face that is either familiar, or innocuous enough that they look like they could answer a question that she steps forward. Hint: She is good at stealth, so it's probably a jumpscare when she says-] Hey. Can I ask you a question?

[2: Wilde Hunt]

[Feathers? Super itchy. Thanks, she really hates it. Turning into a bird? Really fucking weird, honestly, but once she realizes it's an owl type of bird, and that even at her still-human size that the displacement of air from her wings is still mostly silent, she likes it a lot better.

Actually, being able to get up into higher trees to use them for cover has its advantages for a sniper like her.

So when she levels a shot and fires off an arrow, and slams a beast clean in the neck right in front of another Monster or Witch - killstealing, yes she is - it's probably not easy to find out where she came from, nor where she went, aside from some rustling of branches in the trees.

At least not until she drops down from a totally different angle than where she loosed the arrow, next to whoever is here.] Gotta be faster than that.

[3: On the Town/Goblin Market]

[Best way to learn about a town is to get into its nooks and crannies and darker places and figure out what makes it tick. So she can be found perusing the Goblin Market throughout the month, of course, where it has popped up. There's things there - but most of them do stupid things, like hawk lotions to soothe the itching where her feathers are rapidly starting to grow in. Conditioners for talons. Lip balm for the inevitability where her mouth is going to turn into a beak.

... She leaves with a snarky comment after that one, no thank you, she is not about the life of turning into a bird.

After that, she hits up the taverns. Another great place to do intel gathering.

And also drink! Because absolutely she is going to do that. Can't stop, won't stop. And as much as she isn't super into the idea of being inebriated in unfamiliar territory, after a while, it becomes just familiar enough for her to let down her guard.

And comment on a darts game.] You get better aim if you exhale before you throw. Same thing with shooting anything.

[4: Wildcard]

[For anything else! Hit me up via PM or at Reslari or Reslari#9561 on Discord.]

[supersoldier]

[The sentiment isn’t returned, and there is hardly anything that he can glean from Zack that isn’t just the same, stirring discontent. Even a man like Sephiroth, who reads people far better than he’s ever meshed with them, cannot find any give in the other’s expression.

It makes him respond in the only way he knows how in the face of uncertainty; turning inward on himself, conjuring up a still disaffectedness to hide the ruminations beneath. And now, Zack will see what anyone else had perceived when they look at Sephiroth — a cold, professional bearing, devoid of much else.]

...Nibelheim. We were about to depart with a guide who would lead us to the Mt. Nibel reactor.

[Sephiroth is unmoving, with the exception of his hair, which the breeze gently tousles, sometimes revealing the black feathers beneath. Even he hasn’t been immune from the changes this world presses into the Mirrorbound, but it hasn’t appeared to affect his personality. As chilled as ever when he chooses to be.]

But you’re from beyond that, aren’t you?

[As they all are. He doesn’t even need to ask this question; the assumption is as good as the truth at this point.]

How much further?

[weiward]

He hops a couple of times, trying to make up for the few inches of height that he's lost this past month. ...And also because hopping is fun, he's not sure why he didn't realize this before. But Wei Wuxian jogs the rest of the way over to his "uncle", grinning brightly before returning the bow.

It's then that he also remembers the state of his dress - or undress. Wei Wuxian quickly pulls the upper half of his robes back on. Lan Zhan would have a minor meltdown if he knew he was putting so much skin fur on display so casually.

"You arrived here too? But why are you in a place like this?"

NERD

[hoshikiri]

[Indeed Takame did notice, though after a very long moment of staring her down, that this young lady was definitely not suited for a fight. She may have been armed, but she was either a novice or just carried around a sword for show.

Her non-threatening appearance is enough for him to lower his arm and take a breath. While his expression didn't shift from what could only be described as low key hostile, his shift in posture is enough to show that he would not attack. Still. It was a shot in the dark but perhaps she knew something.]

Might you know where this is? I've, ah... lost my way it would seem. [Through A Puddle Of Water.]

[bright_moon]

...Okay the hopping is cute and it takes effort to stifle the laugh. He can't quite help the wider smile though. This should feel wrong, seeing his 'nephew' so much shorter and with fur now but... For some reason this appears to be a normal thing here, and he's starting to feel some of the effects himself.

"Not long ago, yes. I came through a pool of water, it was not intentional."

Why is he here? He shakes his head slightly.

"I do not know why I am here."

[duckflails]

[Down they go, with Donald giving a flurry of incoherent squawks of frustration all the way!

He's splashed as they fall into the puddle, and it takes him a moment to realize the bunny's right behind him.]

Sorry!! [He does feel bad about it, as he tries to pull himself off of her, while splashing about in the process. But at the same time-] I couldn't control it! You shoulda watched where I was going! [It feels perfectly reasonable from his logic!]

Seidou Takizawa | Tokyo Ghoul | Witch

[devilyouknew]

i. he's beauty and he's grace

[He's falling flat on his face.

That's what happens when you're walking distractedly and then suddenly you're stepping out of a mirror above a sink in a public bathroom. Takizawa's foot twists under the faucet at an odd angle and he gives a startled cry as his nose smashes right into the tile.

He still has a few toes hanging off the edge of the porcelain as he lays there in stunned confusion for a few moments.]

Ow.

[Finally getting himself in the appropriate upright position, he's a little surprised to find that his nose is bleeding. And even more surprised that it hasn't almost immediately healed and stopped. An injury like this should be nothing.

Well it's no big deal. It's just a bloody nose. He has more important things to worry about, like getting out of wherever he'd ended up and figuring out how he'd gotten here in the first place.

So it's a somewhat-bloodied young man that steps out onto the street, looking like a misplaced goth who hasn't slept in days. He really hates being this confused.]

ii. soylent green

[The food stalls smell delicious. And that's the problem.

As a ghoul, Takizawa is unable to eat the same food humans do. It tastes and smells revolting to him. In order for it to be palatable to him it would have to have been human at one point. (Even parts of another ghoul, while edible, wouldn't smell this good.)

Do the other people here know? Are they all ghouls like himself? Some of them are clearly monsters, so perhaps this is to be expected. He's eaten plenty of humans in his time as a ghoul, but this scenario just feels wrong. He can't tell if the food is designed to look like regular food or if he's hallucinating that it is. It brings up some pretty awful memories.

He stands back from the stalls, looking a little shaky. If anyone else approaches he'll be sure to give them a warning.] Don't eat that.

[Unaware of his own physical changes, all he can do is assume the worst.]

iii. buyer beware

[In the course of cautiously looking through the wares offered at the goblin market, a curious concoction might have accidentally been spilled down the front of Takizawa's robe. As a result, the ghoul might have "accidentally" punched the goblin in the face.

Look, it's been rough and confusing. He's not interested in adding strange potions to the mix.

The man is now quickly exiting the area while trying to pull his robe up and over his head at the same time. Hopefully he doesn't bump into anyone with this contaminant on him in the process.]

iv. wildcard

[Anything else!]

Rude | Final Fantasy VII (Remake) | Faun (moose-flavored) | OTA

[spareshades]

A. Rude Awakening
( WARNING: Spoilers for FFVII Remake below. )

[ There's nothing more disorienting than being in a firefight, bullets flying, smoke and explosions going off, the vehicle he'd been flying suddenly taking a hit that took the control of it completely out of his hands. He fights to steady out his sudden inevitable descent but it's useless. The ground - or rather, the top of the building in front of him - suddenly looming far too close for comfort.

He catches sight of his reflection in the windshield even as he braces for impact...

...but instead of fire and exploding glass, he's instead launched forward with nothing stopping his fall, slamming into...

Wait, did he just... roll into someone's bedroom?! He straightens up, staggering, as he tries to understand what had just happened. Where he was. And how the hell he'd gotten here.

Someone jolts up from the bed in the darkness and before he even stops to think, he's got his reserve pistol out and aimed at them, his stance alarmed and wary. ]

Don't move!

B-I. Fast and Moose

[ Whatever the ratio of days between arriving and the earliest monster transformations showing up in Aefenglom normally has seemed to be expedited once Rude starts settling into his impromptu universal kidnapping. Rescue? It doesn't take weeks or months for the changes to start showing up, it takes hours.

And by Day Three? He has to go shopping because his entire lower half looks more like a very thick deer, or a bull or a... nope. Nevermind. When the horns - antlers? - finally fully come in, he sees he's neither of these things. He's a moose. He's a sort-of moose because while his lower half has somehow ended up thickly-furred and cloven-hoofed and his new massive horns mean he's gotta turn sideways to go through most doors (and boy, is that ever annoying when he forgets and clunks into the frame before adjusting), his torso is still completely human. Just... broader, somehow? Which is impressive, because he hadn't exactly been small to begin with.

Needless to say, the suit he'd arrived in is no longer going to cut it - although he tries to keep as modest as possible when he heads out looking for some sort of boutique or menswear shop or hell, even a tailor. There's got to be somewhere he can replace his suit in this city, right? One maybe at least made for someone who suddenly finds themselves part....whatever he is now.

Although he guesses that potentially maneuvering in many of these places is going to give a whole new meaning to the whole "bull in a china shop" metaphor. Maybe he'll luck out? But he could definitely use some assistance... ]

B-II. Don't Moose with Me

[ Rude is not part of any sort of guard or security in this city so he doesn't really give a damn if the Goblin Markets are legal or not. Hell, there were enough illegal markets back home he frequented already anyway that he wouldn't have batted an eyelash at this even then.

There is certainly an array of strange and odd sights and sounds and smells to be found here - and boy, were the new monster senses something he was also going to have to get used to. His hearing, especially. As if the sudden extreme width thing hadn't been annoying enough. he keeps his distance from most of the stands as he wanders and peruses - just in case. He doesn't want to break the stalls, let alone get splashed by anything unfortunate, but a few rare merchants do catch his eye and lure him over.

He seems to be especially drawn by any of the stands that are selling off strange herbs and plants, drawn to the greenery like magic. And if it seems to react to him drawing mear, looking a little more vibrant and lively, he doesn't immediately seem to notice the connection.

There are scents that draw him, as well. Ones that are alluring or earthy or... okay, some of them are making him really glad he'd found clothing for his lower half because he's pretty sure there are parts of him that are confused with randy goats rather than moose (mooses? meese?) and it's awkward as hell. he tries his best to ignore it, but he keeps catching himself drifting towards those stalls designed for more carnal pleasures and fun even without realizing it. And then almost tripping over his new strange feet in order to get away again before someone sees.

A subtle moose he is not. ]

C. A Boaltinn Moosical

[ One of the bonfire nights, Rude can be found out and about among the celebrating townsfolk. He's dressed in more casual clothing than normal, not his typical suit. But his choices had been a little more limited than he's used to, due to his new... additions. He's just so relieved to have pants that at the moment he doesn't even mind it so much.

He is, however, sporting his customary shades. Yes, at night. No, he doesn't find that ironic at all.

He wasn't sure what he'd expected to find here, but eventually, he's drawn to where some of the witches and monsters are playing out melodies and rhythmic tunes on a variety of instruments - drums, horns, flutes - some he's never even seen or heard of before. He stands there listening for a while, a little entranced, before he's drawn to pluck up a spare instrument himself. he has no idea how to play it - he's never tried before, but there's something in him that's drawn to it all the same.

Closing his eyes, he plucks each of the strings for a moment before he gets an idea of the sounds each of them make, his mind and instincts somehow recognizing them easily. Before he even realizes he's doing it, he starts plucking out a familiar tune on the strings, lively and energetic, something to match the festive mood of the holiday and those celebrating around the bonfires and ribboned poles. ]

D. Wild Moose Chase

[ The strangeness of being changed into a monster is nowhere more apparent than as they start heading for the full moon. Normally placid and stoic, Rude's temper can sometimes be a bit more volatile and he's definitely a lot more bull-headed (heh) than normal. He's aware of this in himself and tries to curb it where he can, but with varying levels of success.

There's a restless sort of energy, an almost feral wildness that seems to lurk just under the skin. And considering his size and strength, that's got him pretty concerned. Especially in a civilized city like this. When he hears of the wilds outside the city being sectioned off for people to escape to, he doesn't give it a second thought, heading that way and hoping the wilderness will give him some respite to these instincts that seem to be running more and more rampant.

Whether frenzied with the need to roam, to challenge, or perhaps to give into a faun's more promiscusous nature, the longer he stays out among the trees and under the open skies, it's growing harder and harder for Rude to stave off the wild instincts that constantly lure him into surrendering to them. As someone who usually has complete control over himself and his emotions, letting very little much of it ever show, this is both distressing and exhilarating and he can't decide whether to revel in it or find somewhere to go hide until all this craziness passes... ]

E. Moose on the Loose

(( Wildcard option! Want something different than one of the prompts above? Feel free to write your own starter or hit me up at chaneystarr with questions/ideas. This post will be his catch-all for the month and available at any time during the 4th Wall. ))

Please feel free to leave your replies over here at his open post instead, if you want to avoid any captcha hassles later!

[kindlymeant]

[ Pelting a stranger with a snowball is bad enough, but once she sees who she's hit, she feels her unease grow tenfold. Not only a man, but one with a distinctly knightly look about him. It keeps her tense as he rights himself, worried that she may have stung his pride, worried that she won't be able to smooth such a thing over without the presence of her father to protect her.

But then he laughs, and after a momentary widening of her eyes, she finds herself smiling, some tentative amusement cracking through her nerves. It is a pleasant laugh, and a handsome smile, and she knows well not to put too much stock in such things, but she chides herself for being so on edge. ]

Well, [ she admits, ducking her head briefly. ] I have practice in that, if not the magic. [ Her eyes rise to meet his again. The worry that she'd been unable to wholly hide is gone now, and her smile grows. ] Thankfully you are hardy enough to withstand me.

[kindlymeant]

[ Her eyes are drawn to the woman's hand by a sound almost like metal on glass. When she looks, she sees it is no metal, but a set of claws. Her gaze flits back to the silver hidden in her hair, some kind of realization dawning on her face, but feeling those eyes come to rest on her she reminds herself not to gawk. Making an effort to smooth away her curiosity, she meets her eyes again. Only a fool wouldn't note the hair and those eyes together, but some things are even harder to believe than witches and monsters and magic, and so Alayne does not consider it overlong. ]

That is no surprise, I suppose. [ Everything comes with a price everywhere, it seems. She's not sure if there's something reassuring to be found in one held truth.

She shakes her head. ]

Oh, no. I only wished to look around. There is always much to see in a market, wherever it is.

[thisisamazing]

[Toothless lets out a pleased, rumbling 'mrr' of approval, swooping down and letting go once she's only a handful of inches off the ground instead of several feet. He lands smoothly a few yards down the street, practically preening over a rescue well-done.]

That- that would have been some fall! Did you just- did you come out of the window glass? [The nasally voice sure does belong to the young man sliding out of the saddle rather than the dragon, but it was a good guess, considering dragons are people here. Just... not this one.]

[doomflagdestined]

[How rude! She can definitely fight back. As long as her opponent is the crown prince who is equally as much of a novice as she is, and not a conscripted soldier.]

[If she picks up on his aggressive stance, she doesn’t show it. This girl is either a master of compusure or completely clueless.]

Nope. No idea. I fell into a puddle and came out of a bathroom mirror.

[And she didn’t even get to finish her muffin!]

[coherer]

would axolotls (amphibians, generally considered a kind of salamander) be considered merrows or nagas, asking for a friend.........

edit, because i just realized how little info i provided: the character i'm thinking of is water-dependent and weak to electricity. so i feel as though merrow would fit well, but i had to ask. as axolotl behave, apparently, exactly the same way he does. they don't have scales either, so naga would be a bit odd but not altogether unwanted.

anyway, sorry to edit!! ;) ;)

traejan lightrend | world of warcraft (oc) | arachne | ota

[auriphrygiate]

↳ { an unusual arrival; }

(cw: blood)

[ quite a bit of muffled screaming and the crash of shattering glass announce one unorthodox mirrorbound's arrival. there's a bit of chaos on the street now as well, seeing as it's unlikely anyone just passing by the little dress shop imagined anyone would come charging through the window.

or maybe they did, considering what kinds of monsters live here.

maybe it's the fact that there's a tall, blood-covered elf in dark armour standing in the street that's the real shocker. the blood doesn't belong to anyone in aefenglom, if it makes you feel any better. he's very well armed too. twin swords forged from some strange, dark metal hang heavily from his belt, the ornate runic designs carved into the metal still beautiful even though the magical glow's gone out of them at this point. he's got other stuff on his belt too — pouches of ammo, knives, several round objects that look like miniature bombs. his entire left arm could qualify as a weapon just on its own as it seems to be entirely mechanical and built to look menacing. it's almost as if he's stepped right off a battlefield... and into a ladies' fitting room.

as he's picking off the brassiere that managed to get caught up on some of the spikes jutting out of his armour, there's a bit more screaming from inside the shop — a fact this newcomer does not seem surprised to hear. a skeleton only slightly taller than the elf himself comes clattering outside a few moments later. ]

Oh, come on. Not again..

[ this is not his first rodeo in another world. he's been to outland and he's been to draenor on some alternate timeline fuckery and demonic hellscapes at the opposite end of the known universe. in his experience going to other worlds sucks and even more so when you have zero plans of doing that today.

apparently some of the glass nicked him on the way out because there's blood running down the side of his face. perfectly average looking red blood. he hasn't seemed to notice that yet though, too busy looking around. ]

... Alright. What the fuck.

↳ { the goblin market; }

(cw: giant spider monster)

So.. this is for pain, yes? And there's no side effects? I'll be fine to operate machinery?

[ the transition of one's body from life to a state of unlife is a dramatic one. it's certainly the only major transition traejan ever expected to have to deal with in his time, at least until his body made that last transition from unlife to truly dead. proper worm food at last. he prefers not to think about that one at all, so it doesn't count.

so it's fair to say he's accustomed to changes and no stranger to pain. still, what he's gone through in only a matter of days since arriving is a lot, even for someone so experienced with things that outright suck. the aches and pains of growing new body parts and vastly altering others are numerous and severe, especially when as a living person he's so much more intimately connected to his nerves than he's used to.

he's had to abandon most of his armour as a result of the changes since the lower half of his body is no longer humanoid but replaced with a spider-like abdomen and six sprawling legs as well as two smaller pedipalps that can double as an extra set of hands. he's looped his belt around his waist anyway — for the utility! — and strapped on a pauldron to cover his non-mechanical shoulder, but is otherwise bare-chested. the long, twisted scar that runs from his left ear diagonally down to his right hip is on full display now, framed as it is by the cable-like stitches embedded in the skin. he also has runes carved into the flesh down both arms and along his spine, although the latter are pierced every so often by some of the spiky protrusions that have grown up from under his skin. without his magic to glow through them they are simply scars marring otherwise normal skin. though he isn't wearing a gauntlet, his left arm and forearm are not so different from his mechanical right anymore with the hard, chitinous exoskeleton scaling that's grown over the skin there.

aside from all this he is mostly the same elf — the same very long blue hair, the same pointy ears — but he has way more eyes now. two more have opened above and below his right eye and three have appeared on the left with one above and two below. he probably didn't have the long, curving fangs when he got here either, visible even when he has his mouth closed like sabers. he probably hates that, vain as he is. the hulking skeleton still lumbers along at his side, although with the increased height the arachne's new legs afford him the height differential between them has shifted considerably.

traejan is squinting at a crystal vial he has grasped between two fingers, his hold surprisingly gentle considering those fingers are metal. the vendor — a fluffy faun that seems that much smaller and rounder next to the arachne — looks like he regrets flagging down this particular customer, especially when the vial is thrust back in his face. ]

You wouldn't be opposed to sampling your own wares, would you? I mean you're not selling poisons, after all..

[ it's entirely possible he'd have still asked the poison vendor to do the same, if only to fuck with them.

the faun starts offering excuses, citing things like the need for precision measurements or exact dosage for maximum efficacy. blah blah blah. traejan can't help but notice the way the vendor's eyes keep drifting to his mouth, surely eyeing those fangs as he speaks. ]

No? If it's legitimate, I'd buy two which solves your dosing problem. Does everyone around here just trust each other?

[ he slams his other hand on the counter for emphasis! wake up, sheeple. ]

I'm traumatised by years on the battlefield and have no trust in my fellow man and you. want. my gold right now, what are you gonna do about it? Convince me. This is your livelihood, isn't it? Who is gonna put food on that table, huh? Huh?

[ laying it on really thick right now for dramatic effect, honestly. the faun seems to lose even more height, but who could blame him for shrinking at what's emoting aggressively in his direction.

it seems traejan's intent on grilling the poor vendor about his skills as salesmen. maybe he holds shady dealers to some kind of higher standard? someone could save the guy. or join in? ]

↳ { a wilde hunt; }

(cw: potential blood or violence later on?)

[ it's not a sense of responsibility that draws traejan to the hunting grounds but a real desire for the hunt. for him, that feeling goes deeper than what being mirrorbound has done to him. even though whatever process brought him here stripped his magic and returned him to life — effectively removing any unnatural need to hunt and do harm — by now it's long since become something more to him. the strong tug of the sisters only adds to it. ]

i. [ he's right out here in the dark forest, probably moving way too silently for something his size. a few beasts have already met their end in the few hours he's been out here, the carcasses strung up in trees wrapped tightly in glistening thread. that urge is new. the hunt is purely for sport now but there's nothing stopping him from sinking his claws into the local fauna when there's perfectly good buyers for all that in the city.

other monsters and witches don't get the same treatment, at least. that is to say, he's unlikely to kill them, so the chase is all in good "fun". someone could easily snag one of the silken tripwires laid all over the little patch of woods traejan's staked out for himself. they're difficult to see unless the moonlight catches them just so and disturbing them tells the arachne precisely where to find them. his new instincts clue him in to what it all means and that's just fine — he's never had an issue listening to those.

the only warning is a rustling in the brush — which is completely intentional — before the shape of the arachne appears... from the complete opposite direction as the sound, hanging down from the branches of a tree. thanks to silken cables and the strength of his two rearmost sets of claws, he seems to have no problem holding on while the humanoid part of him leans down to peer at whoever has the misfortune of stumbling into this situation. his front set of legs and his shorter pedipalps are raised threateningly.

running might be a good idea, but there's nothing stopping someone from standing their ground.. ]

ii. [ at least some of that bloodlust is being put to some good use? despite being a very pointy spider-beast he's made the wise decision to put more distance between himself and the shades he's targeting now. the dual blades seem like overkill but in this aspect his inexperience comes into play. on two legs he is a master swordsman, surprisingly agile and quick for a man of his size. on six he's fighting against himself — compensating for placing his feet awkwardly or the power or reach of a strike falling short because he fails to account for the shift in his new centre of gravity or how to angle his body properly now.

don't get him wrong, he's still quite skilled. it's just not as effortless as it might be ordinarily. his absolute confidence in his own body is lacking. that skeleton is still following him around too but even in the midst of a fight it hangs back and seems to watch. one would think a seven foot tall walking skeleton might be an effective weapon to have on your side in battle but for some reason it just.. stays put. always a safe distance from the shade even if traejan himself is right in melee range. weird?

he's also not a completely heartless person, as he will help someone who seems like they're struggling. however, his celebratory whoop when the battle's over suggests he maybe only helped them out so he could steal credit for the kill.. ]

↳ { wildcard; }

[ OOC: if there's anything else you'd like to see/do, feel free to contact me at koutenko or discord @ koutenko#5884 ]