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

[bitterfrost]

"Strange doesn't even begin to describe it." But his grip loosens on his sword, his expression twisting for a moment before he nods.

"I...yes. If your claim is true, then we should speak, but I find it hard to believe."

A

[blankpieces]

[There is a large talking duck in Near's living room. The half-changed naga stares, wondering (not for the first time) if he shouldn't just leave his house for the day. It's not likely to be any better outside, but at least he won't have to deal with all the awkwardness of having to explain that he's not a kidnapper.

At least he thinks the duck is talking. There are certainly words mixed in there somewhere. He'd attempt to read its lips, but he's not fluent in beak reading.]

Are you dinner? I mean, are you here for dinner?

[His poor attempt at levity falls even flatter as his snake instincts continue to alert him to the fact that ducks fall partially into the prey animal category.]

...You should go.

[bright_moon]

Xingchen feels part of himself ease when Zichen agrees, and nods before leading the way from the goblin market. He might still be learning his way around, but he's also learning how to rely on his growing new instincts.

Such as figuring out where the least number of people are, so they have the most privacy. Only once they're more or less alone does he speak, steps measured and unhurried.

"I - the only proof I can offer is to speak of what I know of you. Of the Zichen I know." And so he quietly speaks of the life of his Zichen as he's been told, and of the night hunts he's gone on with his soulmate.

[killuwatt]

[ Killua's fingers curl tightly around Gon's hand to pull him up. He hadn't thought about it. He'd just reached out.

He hadn't considered how it would feel. He hadn't expected the flurry of disjointed, starkly juxtaposed memories, sensations, the way his thoughts teeter from one extreme to another. Gon's rough, training-calloused fingers around his on one end; and then the frail and withered horror on the other; the way he'd used to grip so tightly when he was excited; and the cold and leathery ruin of his hand in that awful, sterile room with the beep of hospital equipment all around and more wires and tubes than flesh making up Gon's broken body and--

Killua lets go when Gon does.

And worst of all, alarmingly, he wishes that he hadn't. ]

You didn't know what could happen?

[ He falls into the natural rhythm of teasing, rolling his eyes and sticking his hands in his pockets oh-so-casually. Out of sight, his fingers curl into fists. ]

That we could fall through a mirror or whatever and into an alternate dimension? If you had known something like this could happen, I hope you'd have mentioned it earlier! Moron.

...but really. I didn't expect to see you.

Here, I mean.

[ Or this soon. ]

You look--

[ The same. Whole, thankfully. Hands too soft, years of callouses and scars wiped clean. Starting over. ]

Like you're doing okay.

...you been here a few days too?

[anotherstep]

I've faced off against worse before.

[ Which isn't really a meant to be boasting so much as a statement of fact, but he is reasonably confident in his abilities to be a damage sponge. Then again...that was also helped by some abilities that allowed him to take more hits than the average person could.

Her question earns her a gruff sound in return, as he readies himself to move when the shade gears up to charge him. ]

Just what I got where I came here. [ Magic he is not fond of, his tone implies. ] You?

[unyieldingmarch]

I wish that I could give you a solid answer.

[Edelgard exhales, slowing her stride a bit. She's thought about this, wracked her brain over and over...]

The Coven claims that they do not know. And given the strain that we place upon their already burdened government, I cannot say that I disbelieve them. If you're anything like the Byleth I know I'm sure that you investigated and are aware of the blight outside the walls. Some vile contagion that taints the land, twists the plants and animals that come into contact with it. The Cwyld, they call it.

Many Mirrorbound believe that the world called out to us, to help deal with the blight. Given the timing, us arriving at an hour of need, I honestly find it difficult to dispute the notion.

[bitterfrost]

The lack of people makes it easier for him to breathe, at least, tensuion slipping from his body as he listens to this Xingchen speak. And some of it does line up. Enough that he can't deny the claim entirely, but there are differences.

And those have him slightly confused. "...Wei Wuxian has been dead for 13 years. You ...we never met him, just heard stories of the things he did as the Yiling Patriarch."

[mistwalk]

[ Sitting is probably the better way to receive such news anyway, though Yugiri still looks apologetic to have to deliver it to him at all. She may not be responsible for him being here, but it seems that none of them chose to come here, and it's hardly convenient for any of them. ]

Or so I am told. I have difficulty believing it myself, but all I have spoken to have said the same.

[ So it's either a very impressive lie, or the truth, though if she had her choice, she'd prefer the former. It being true is far more worrisome, though her disposition remains calm and composed. ]

[bright_moon]

Xingchen notices the lessening of tension and it's another indication this really is Zichen. If not the one he knows, still someone very much like him. Close enough their souls might still echo each other, their minds alike enough to understand with very little effort.

His steps falter at the news. "...Wei Wuxian is here, alive and well. And he recognized me, as has Hanguang-Jun. I've been staying with them."

But he will be speaking with his nephew about what Zichen has said. Later.

[hegemonwings]

[ that actually gets a bit of a laugh. byleth nods, once, the corner of her mouth quirking up as she turns to face him. as much as she kind of hates this, the well-being of her former students is always an easy topic. ]

To my knowledge. Everyone's favorites are probably as you know them. Lysithea loves her sweets, Raphael keeps working to bulk up. The supply lines to the Monastery stayed intact, and with the war over... I doubt anyone will go without.

[evanescent]

Mm. [A minute nod of her head.] It was a surprise to me too. That's how I knew right away that this place wasn't... [A pause. Her gaze flickers down, briefly, as if his focus on her has her shy, though it isn't just that.

Finally, she looks up at him, smiles. It's a genuine smile, reaches her eyes — but it's a little sad too.]

I can't believe you're here, either. [She takes a second to think, then reaches for his hand to gently tug, as if she's worried that he'll disappear if they aren't close enough.] There's a park nearby — let's go.

[The apartment was an option, but Cloud...

She isn't sure. Best to hold off on that.]

[bitterfrost]

"He may well be here, but that doesn't change the fact there are distinct differences in our memories of events. Xue Yang was a Jin guest disciple we encountered knocking over a stall. We left him to his sect at the time, but later, he wiped out my temple and blinded me." His voice shakes slightly, his fingers curling into his palms before he glances at the other Xingchen.

"The Xingchen I was with restored my sight with the help of his master and I was very cruel to him afterwards because of my own anger."

[lightblooming]

[ Aqua speaks gently. The last thing she does is want to startle him. Though, he... seems a little calm despite having just been taken from home so suddenly. ]

Just like you, I was a new arrival here.

[ Except well... She didn't arrive quite the same way as he did. ]

This usually happens every other month, though for some reason - there are people arriving here much sooner than that.

[bright_moon]

He nods in agreement. Then frowns, distress radiating from him at the news Zichen, any Zichen, was blinded and his temple destroyed. It hurts to hear and he very much wishes to comfort him.

But sets it aside. Zichen isn't a tactile person, for all he'd rarely thrown his hand off when they'd touched. "I would do the same for mine," he states firmly. Then shakes his head, gaze softening. "You were wounded. Hurting. Please be kind to yourself and try to let yourself heal."

[thavnairian]

[He pauses halfway through putting his hood up, pauses, and then leaves it down. He looks precisely like the kind of miscreant who lives in the alley. Kainé, on the other hand-- well, until that language... Hm. Maybe she's his kind of people.

He flashes her a grin.]

I couldn't keep myself from having a little fun. If it wasn't me he was trying to scam, it would've been some other poor sod.

[bitterfrost]

"That was many years ago." His voice is quiet, fingers flexing within his sleeves, gaze distant for a moment. "I'd finally tracked him down again and then I was here." And this other Xingchen had appeared in front of him.

"I don't understand why but, perhaps it was meant to happen." His gaze settles on Xingchen again, lingers for a moment.

"Were you alone before you came here?"

[bright_moon]

Xingchen ignores the itch, the restlessness that encourages him to approach and embrace the other. Not yet. Maybe never, but Zichen would have to make that choice.

"I hope not. I would like to think such horrors do not happen in my world." But he has a horrible sense that maybe he's wrong. It's not occurred to him before that anyone would do that. Except, isn't that precisely what Xue Yang did to the Chang clan?

"Yes. I was on my way to rejoin my Zichen after the celebration was to end."

[bitterfrost]

"...Celebration?" He can't quite keep his voice steady, something inside him sinking because he knows what's coming, know how this ends but there's also a sense of relief that this Xingchen hasn't suffered the way he made his own.

"...You are indeed lucky then." His voice is quieter, eyes closing for a moment before he takes a step closer to Xingchen.

"Perhaps your story will take a different path."

[voktys]

I have been told to which fate my changes are leading me. If it cannot be halted, I would at least wish to control the monster in whichever way I may.

⟪ she has found herself among the luckier ones – she is in no great deal of pain, safe for the aching hunger, with which she has been entirely familiar since earliest infancy. granted, she feels weaker, sick, drained somehow, but that is nothing she does not intend to merely push past. ⟫

I take it you were made here a Witch, my lady?

[freecshow]

[selfishly, though only out of ignorance, Gon has no idea the startling magnitude of juxtaposed feelings and memories that are sparked in Killua by their contact. he does, however, find himself immediately distracted. his hand and fingers still tingle from the touch, and Gon can't stop thinking about how he wishes he hadn't let go—or that maybe he'd hugged Killua instead. heart racing, Gon is realizing that he's felt so completely starved of Killua's company that even his body reacts with desperate, wild yearn.

Gon launches himself into the next feeling he can, and he frowns a bit brattishly.]

That's not what I meant, Killua! I meant I didn't know that people from the same world could show up at all...

[Gon recovers into another smile, and his hands twist against his backpack straps as his breath almost shakes, trying to quell their shaking. Killua's here. right here! right in front of him. it would be a surprise no matter what, but it's even more unlikely in this circumstance.

it's hard. Gon's trembling with restraint. if things were different, Gon would be crushing Killua in a long, awkward hug. he wants to. it's hard, that it's so sudden and unplanned—Gon would have otherwise prepared himself for the strain of this.]

—But, yeah! I've been here for just a few days. I was fishing back at home, but then I was kind of pulled in by my lure, and then I popped up out of a river here...

[killuwatt]

[ Despite everything, he's missed the way Gon says his name. And how often he says it, the way he never misses an opportunity to address him, as if to serve as a reminder: to Gon, he is only Killua, only himself and nothing else. Not that long ago, that was all he'd cared about. It was all he'd ever wanted.

Things are more complicated now.

...or maybe they're not. Maybe they were always like this.

He needs to get his head on straight.

Killua takes a slow, subtle breath. Whatever the reason, they're both here now. And however else he feels about it, he is glad to see Gon alive and well. He's glad he's not completely alone in this new world. ]

No one seems to know what caused it, [ Killua begins to explain, matter-of-fact, as if he's already used to this. ] ...but I guess it is possible. The lady at the Coven told me groups of people come through the mirrors once every couple of months, usually. This time, it was weird. People showed up all over.

I popped out of someone's bedroom mirror! It was super awkward. [ kind of like this smalltalk! ]

Good thing they weren't naked or anything, right? That would've been even more embarrassing!

[freecshow]

[yes, this small talk is unbearably awkward, and Gon's sort of surprised by how anxious he's made by it. but also, he's thrilled, even if it feels like he's gonna vibrate right the fuck out of his skin.

Gon's not sure he can remember the last time he felt so weirdly engaged but distracted at the same time. he's hyper sensitive to every little tick of Killua's movement, the way his expressions fall over his fair, clean features—how animated but subtle he is...
Gon laughs, his chest feeling full.]

Haha, yeah! Right? Comfier than coming out of a cold river, though...

[Gon pauses, then frowns, scratching his cheek.] —Hm, come to think of it, I didn't come out of a mirror...?

[and that thought's gone as soon as Gon has it, cuz he's whipping his head up again with a smile, eyes brightening.]

—Ah! Killua, you went to the Coven? I was thinking of going today!

[you know, the inadvertent implication being that he hadn't yet.]

[bright_moon]

The tone says it all. Xingchen feels his heart sink, his eyes slip close before he forces them open with determination.

"Whether it does or does not, it does not change who my soulmate is. I am here, Zichen. As are you. I would very much like to remain in your company, if that does not upset you."

Above all else, he does not want to hurt this man if he can avoid it. His own wants matter far less.

[bitterfrost]

"I would never turn you away, Xingchen. I made that mistake once." And he still regretted it, even more after he'd seen where that choice had led Xingchen.

"I will stay beside you during our time here."

[killuwatt]

But you said you were fishing. The surface of water is reflective. That probably counts.

I mean, I don't know exactly what the mirrors themselves have to do with it, or whether it's just the concept but--

[ Hang on. Oh, he was actually so relieved to talk about the here and now and the weirdness of being in a strange world (rather than the weirdness of meeting up again so suddenly before he feels quite ready to face Gon again) that he almost missed what Gon is actually saying.

Killua narrows his eyes at him. ]

Gon! What have you even been doing the last couple of days? Where did you sleep?!

[ He'd thought it was common advice to be directed to the Coven. Then again, even if people had told Gon this, knowing how stubborn and stupid he is...

Killua sighs. ]

You wind up in a completely different world and you don't even try to learn why you're here or what to do about it. You've just been messing around this whole time, haven't you?