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

B

[foolsguard]

[ Okay, so he heard the hustle and bustle of stuff being sold and bought and advertised and he got excited. Seriously, it's the most "at home" thing he's gotten ever since he showed up in this backwater place! But then he goes down to check it out and... Well, what do you know? A good ol' market, complete with some shady stuff on display. Nice.

Alber is absolutely be into this kind of stuff - after all, he frequents the street stands back home to the point that that you could set a watch to it - but that doesn't mean he's about to take any risks and actually buy anything. The thrill of checking out shady wares is a lot less fun when you're in a completely different world, for some reason.

Most importantly, of course, he's done this song and dance enough to know suspicious wares when he sees them. For the most part. Alchemy's not exactly his area of study. Either way, he's pretty glad he happens to be nearby when he hears someone getting a hair away from actually buying one of these dubious things. What is this guy, out of his mind? Did he not think about this? ]

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Buddy! You're not seriously going after that stuff, are you?

[ He's all but reached out to grab Asbel's arm. Because what is restraint when you're rescuing someone from making a Potentially Really Bad Decision? ]

[kingofunification]

[His eyes are on the booths but he keeps checking on Bernadetta from the corner of his eye, not wanting to leave her behind.]

I did. Fresh out of the mirror...or in my case, a lake. [Claude chuckles, trying to recall what that booth with the gnarled looking root was claiming...some kind of muscle relaxer for growing pains?] Not the highlight of my life, but I'm trying to adapt.

[He turns to eye Bernadetta more fully, small smile on his face] How long have you been here?

hunt of the wilde Futaba

[heartsy]

That noise...

[While walking around, he'd heard it-- a soft purring noise, muffled and peaceful. But looking around... there was no cat to be seen. He looked twice, just to be certain.

Curiosity ultimately got the better of him and he stepped closer, enough that he could hear it getting louder. He was right by the door to the cafe but no cat.]

I could have sworn it was coming from somewhere around here...

[It almost sounded like it was coming from... below. Peering between the wooden floorboards, he catches a glimpse of color. Stepping around, he kneels at the side of the steps and-- ah.]

...Futaba? This is nowhere to be sleeping.

[Goodness. He likes darkness too, but you don't see him hiding in dark spaces (yet) do you?]

[thornbox]

[It can speak! And oh no he's in trouble!

Yogi trots up to be in front of the duck, and crouches down, extends his arms, and waits for impact.]

Come here, I got you!

[trost]

You look too old to be scared of doctors.

[ Yogi, you crybaby ... ]

Is the varuga a plant? If it's at home, then you shouldn't have to worry about it anymore, right?

[shinkunochou]

[She looks down at herself, slowly uncurling her fingers from the kimono. Dried blood flakes off after her and float to the ground but she hardly seems to notice. She just seems genuinely confused as to why anyone would think ‘the worst’ of her and, spoken with someone with the innate privilege of never having to think about such things, she asks:]

Why would they suspect anything?

[...Well. She is the one with blood all over her. She looks down at herself as if remembering and then back up. Quickly, as if to reassure:] It’s not my blood.

[A beat.]

...That doesn’t sound reassuring either though, does it...

[meteodrives]

[ In most other circumstances, she'd think this really was some kind of trick. Something to make her doubt her sanity or her memories of what happened in Nibelheim. He wouldn't be the first, after all. But this seems oddly genuine and if he's to be believed, if his memories really stop after that picture--

What happened? Did the force of the Lifestream strip him of his memories? She doesn't understand.

The conflict is clear on her face as she weighs the unspoken question hanging between them. She hears it without him giving voice to it. Now she has to measure how much of the flood gates she can open and still keep herself from drowning in the grief, the guilt, the blame. ]

Most of the town... It's gone. They're dead.

[ She can't begin to count the numbers and knows if she tries now, the agony will come back, and she won't be weak in front of him, no matter how distant he seems from the monster she's encountered. ]

ii. a wilde hunt

[silentsavant]

( as with every fresh batch of extraterrestrial arrivals, soren goes on a determined hunt. anyone who understands him well enough would know who he hopes to find. this time around, he needs to cover more ground than just the coven and surrounding areas. it's easy to pick out the newcomers from natives and the mirrorbound more settled into their new lives for someone as perceptive as soren, but he wouldn't even need to be able to tell the difference to spot the man he's been hoping to see for a year.

it's tough to tell if the odd, piqued sense pinching the forefront of his brain is simply from the unorthodox nature of their summon or something more salient to the dragon.

it's on the sixth of the month that soren decides to follow along with the coven to allow monsters and witches to release some of that pent-up energy in spite of his reservations: he's a dragon, he doesn't trust himself not to harm others nor prevent himself from enjoying a fight too much. he could trust the likes of eren or other dragons to handle him. he does have a bond in place and a bit of a trump card should things go too awry. there is a chance he might find who he's looking for here.

while stalking through the rime-touched wilde (and donning warming enchantments to keep him from going torpid), soren discovers the inconspicuous trace of a curious scent. it wouldn't be accurate to call it familiar if it's so unique to his experiences as a monster. but there is something in the essence of it that stirs him at a deep level, like a nostalgic aroma that evokes a memory that can't be recalled no matter how hard the mind is racked. it's somewhere along the river, laced with magic. he pursues it down the banks with little expectation as to what, or who, he might locate.

and then he spots ranulf on the stilled patch of river. his head reels; the air he sucks could puncture his diaphragm. he halts to reassess whether he's hallucinating (he's done it before, especially on the full moon) or if that "turnskin" with icy blue fur was wearing all the right accouterments to be mistaken for the gallian. he shakes his head, blinks rapidly, but he's still over there testing his weight against the solidified waters.

why the disbelief? now of all times is when he should be expecting a meeting like this to occur, had already considered the possibility that others from tellius could show up today. but it had been a year, a whole year and with nobody he recognized emerging from the glass of a mirror. all of these other mirrorbound finding comfort in familiar faces. it was beginning to seem like it would never happen.

heart charged with an explosive mixture of emotions, he begins hurrying over to greet him, rattling and snapping dead branches like bones. he'd never been quite so senselessly excited to see the cat laguz as he is now, the closest link he has to the place he longs to return to. but then, a frosty notion slows his legs.

how could he have forgotten? horns jut from his head. he has a tail now, and wings and scales. all features pilfered directly from the royal black dragons of goldoa. ranulf could surely see that.

or would he disregard it like soren had done at first? black aflame with red — just like his own hair and eyes.

by the time ranulf would notice him, the sudden hesitance in his approach is clear. whatever soren wanted to say is buried beneath the rush of sudden and foreign self-consciousness. that he would care one whit what a laguz thinks of him anymore?

no... it's concern for how ranulf thinks of him. what's become of him, this freak of nature, this twisted and primitive patchwork of beorc and laguz none of the dragon tribe members on tellius would gaze upon with anything but horror. especially now that the sisters exert their influence upon him, drawing out sharper claws and teeth, wider fins, more scales, blown irises that threaten to eclipse his sclerae and consume his thinned vertical pupils... despite his reluctance to be received, he steels himself with a lowered head, tensed arms and taut wings, but isn't so scared that he won't look ranulf in the eyes when he greets him. )

Ranulf... It's really you.

( oh, dear. his toothy changes have bestowed upon him a bit of a temporary lisp... )

[thisisamazing]

Boaltinn, yeah, it's- the summer celebration. And there are- uh, definitely a lot more people right now. Not... entirely sure what happened there... [It all seems pretty confusing. He hasn't involved himself really at all in researching the mirrors or trying to find a way home, preferring to stick to his forge and wait it out.]

Hm? No, Sharpshot is- he's from my home. He's not like the dragons here. [Not a person. Or particularly... bright. He's very well trained but he also licks his own eyeballs so. Take that as you will.]

I can try if you want? What is it uh, supposed to do? What you bought?

[kingofunification]

[Ah. So that cat was out of the bag, so to speak.

It's an uncomfortable feeling, having his homeland aired out so causally, a prickle of cold dread in his stomach--but if he was forced to leave, then something must have gone wrong. He had set out to see through with his business in Fódlan for as long as he could manager...and that seems to have come to and end in whatever future Edelgard had seen.

What of his own war, then?]

That was chivalrous of him. Or I suppose, me. [A snort.] Hope he's having a great time, wherever he may be. [He stretches his arms before throwing them back behind his head, returning Edelgard's look with a empty smile.] Frankly, the both of you are lucky, to be able to wash this war business from your hands.

[duckflails]

[He can speak alright. And what's more, he can scream!]

WAAAAHHHH!!!

[He cries out as he speeds forward! And right into the strange fleshy man's arms. That'll bring a stop to him, though with a bit of force from the momentum of his sliding.]

[thornbox]

But he's really scary!

[He shakes his head.]

No, they're creatures that have... umm... Evolved? from human beings.

[kingofunification]

[He laughs, a light thing pushed from his lungs at the recognition that sparks in her eyes. This is Marianne. A Marianne that he remembers, and it's like some of the vines constricting his chest have eased at the sight.]

I'm as well as you can imagine, being in a place like this so suddenly. I assume it must be similar for you then? [His hands rests on her shoulders, giving her a through looking down for any changes or injuries.]

What about you?

[cspd]

[ Somewhere in the middle of the market, Lloyd has made his unexpected return with even less poise, in the middle of a fountain. He's quick to brush it off, pick himself up, and awkwardly apologize to the passersby explaining that yes, he is familiar with this place, and no, he doesn't need to be pointed in the right direction - and has gotten his bearings enough to figure out which way will take him back to...

...well, there are a couple of possibilities, but he's leaning towards checking on his former housemates before trying to get answers at the Coven. If anything's afoot and the information is actually circulating, they'll know about it, anyway.

So here he is, heading down the street and still dripping wet, when Elie gets tossed out a door right in his path - and while coming back didn't elicit too dramatic a reaction from him, finding her here most definitely does. ]

E...Elie?

[shithogs]

[What a condescending piece of shit.

For once, she manages not to say what she's thinking out loud. She hates censoring herself, but she can tell him exactly what she thinks of him once the alarm is shut down, however they're going to manage to do that. Either that, or the authorities will turn up before they can manage, and then she'll have much bigger problems than this smug son of a bitch.]

Fine.

[Said through clenched teeth. She's as embarrassed as she is angry, but she doesn't intend on letting the former show beyond the waver of the tightly-clenched fist at her side. She waits until he passes to turn back towards the store, drawing in a deep breath before she scans for any sign of a mechanism. It's hard enough considering the incredibly late hour, only made worse by the fact that she's never even seen one.]

What are we looking for? I've never run into one of these before.

[thornbox]

[Yogi catches the duck but ends up falling back on his butt, holding him, but hey, at least the sliding stopped?]

Are you ok?

[confectionerie]

...Akechi-kun?!

[ As if this couldn't get any weirder...

The last person Ann expects to see on the other side of that door is Akechi. Maybe later, once she's had to piece together what's going on, it won't be so surprising, but in the moment, her whole body tenses, as though he's the one who's not where he's supposed to be. But if this is a cognition, does that mean...he's caught onto their plan already?

Her expression is tight with mingled caution and anger, but she doesn't give up any ground. This is the guy who tried to kill her best friend. No matter how surprised he looks, she can't forget that. It's probably some sort of trick. Maybe this is all his doing. ]

I-I could ask you the same thing!

[ ...EXCEPT THIS ISN'T HER BATHROOM, so not really, but look, she's overwhelmed, she can't come up with a snappy comeback on the spot like she might want to! ]

[duckflails]

I'm alright. [He huffs fussily, but he's still grateful.] Thanks. You can put me down now!!

[partnerinheels]

He doesn't need to tell her about the strangeness of time when it comes to this place and people. When Chris was here, he came from a point in the future. He had told her she lived, that they both survived Kijuju. Josh and Jill too. She'd asked that before asking about herself. After all, she had been ready to die if it meant taking Wesker down with her.

Turns out it took more than a volcano to kill that asshole.

Hearing him laugh again, no matter how small or out of place, continued to ground her here and in the now, no matter how much those ugly scents pulled at the darkness in her mind. She honestly, if he smelled better, could stay like this for far longer. While she has an avenue for physical comfort here, Josh is family, someone who believed in and supported her as she grew into her role within the team and the BSAA. If it weren't for him and his training, she and Chris both likely wouldn't have survived, for what that's worth now.

His timely break in the embrace helps shove that thought aside, her feline green eyes searching his face for a reaction, nervous that she'd see disgust. It had taken her a while to adjust, given their recent experiences with monsters, and she'd hate for him to see her as one too. Her tail flicks anxiously behind her.

What tension accumulates dispells at his declaration. "And you as well. One, stinky piece." She makes a bit of a face, but a smile continues to fight its way through. "Come with me. You need a shower."

[shinkunochou]

[Sea keeps a grip on Ann’s arm as they run, trying to keep her mind on the present. They’re ducking around corners in alleys in a strange city, not dodging trees and undergrowth in the wild forests. There were guards on their heels, not angry villagers. The desperation for freedom being just within reach was similar, though, and Sae shakes her head both to clear it and in answer.]

I don’t know! I just woke up here too!

[She has no idea where she’s going, however, and simply turn down random paths until she finally decides that her feet are hurting too much to continue on.]

Here! [Sae hisses the word, but the guards seem far enough behind to not really notice as she ducks into an area behind a shop of some kind, hiding behind some piles of junk thrown out.

Her heart pounding she strains to listen for anyone incoming.] ...I think we lost them? For now? They’ll probably be patrolling for a while though...

[hegemonwings]

[ this again. she suppresses the urge to roll her eyes at claude bringing that up, as felix had.

is this what happens when she leaves edelgard to move forward with her plans alone? does her partner lose herself, lose sight of what matters? once more, she feels confirmation that there was only ever one choice to make. she doesn't visibly react to having that thrown in her face, not even with confusion. it's another world's war, a reflection in a shattered mirror, and it has nothing at all to do with her. ]

The Archbishop burned Fhirdiad with its people still within the walls. [ byleth crosses her arms, taking a breath. she won't even rise to the bait of claude mentioning adrestian atrocities. ] Yes, Claude. Very different experiences. Walk with me?

[evanescent]

[If Jessie were someone else — Cloud, maybe — she would not let that attempt at playing it cool slide. As it is, her smile only widens by a fraction.]

There are worse things to be cautious about than magical fire. If you weren't a little nervous, I'd be worried! For what it's worth, I don't think it'll hurt you — there's a type of magic here that deals in illusions like this.

[Curious now, Aerith tilts her head.] None at all? [...] Maybe we could try it together?

wilde hunt!

[meteodrives]

[ He isn't the only one out hunting for similar reasons. If there's a way Tifa can help people, she's going to do it, and this bubbling magic beneath her skin means she has to find a way to make all of that work too. It's one thing to use materia and another thing to cast spells from oneself, something she'll need to learn if she's going to adapt in this place.

She's no thief and she doesn't have the skill to sneak around like the best of them, but she's quiet as she flits through the dark, between the trees, and slips into the undergrowth when she thinks she sees a dark shadow nearby.

The voice is close and she's quick to turn her head, not even realizing how close she'd been to someone else. It takes her a moment through the shock of being discovered for her to recognize the voice, to realize who she's looking at. Tifa's mouth moves with no sound escaping at first, eyes wide, expression uncertain.

Then, softly: ]

It's okay. I'm... I'm just here to help.

[trost]

[ He does notice the pointed ears, antenna, and bug-like eyes. It's like she's transformed into a kind of insect, but he doesn't know what she's actually supposed to be. It's not like their world had many stories of monsters. The only beings that could be called a monster are the titans. That's probably how most of their world sees them, being a race of people who can turn into titans.

It's odd to him that the gear would be painful to touch. How can leather, wire and steel be painful? The materials are no different from most everyday objects. ]

Why would it do that? It's just metal, isn't it?

magic in the woods

[byherself]

[ ...Was that it? Although, Ryoko had been only slightly trying to do magic herself, so this was impressive in its own way. ]

That's not bad. [ No, she should really be more supportive than that. ] Any bigger and it'd probably be hard to keep upright. Good work!