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

[detonatability]

[ Deidara bristles, and for a second it looks like he could choke on his own rage. It's not at all pretty, the way his whole face flushes. I remember you more clearly...?! Had his final act not left any kind of impression? After he'd leveled an entire forest? Even if this little bastard got away, which never should have happened, that ultimate display of art should have made an impression — forced him to acknowledge true artistry.

That statement, it's enough to make Deidara want to start a fight, just to be contrary. But — he doesn't know how long this Uchiha has been here and Deidara hardly even has a surface grasp of the magic of this place. He's severely under prepared for a full-scale battle, and kicking the shit out of Sasuke wouldn't be worth it if he couldn't make it artistic.

That doesn't stop the outrage, though, or the sentiment: ]

I'd blow up this whole city if it would take you with it.

[eyeforaneye]

...

[ The barest of smirks dents that placid expression of his, showcasing at least some level of emotion even if it isn't the kind that Deidara wants. He's had numerous difficult fights over the years, brutal encounters that had worn him down to a mere husk of a human being, but the pain he'd felt at Deidara's hands does still stand out. It might fulfill him if he says so.

Sasuke chooses the more sadistic route and purposefully doesn't, indulging in that side of himself for once. Sure, he's reformed, but this man isn't a good person who deserves many kindnesses from him. ]

Exactly. Trying to bludgeon me to death with your fists wouldn't have the same artistic impact. Either way, if you find a way to manage it and it's another suicidal venture you should consider the value of your own life a little more seriously first.

Otherwise you're repeating your mistake.

all aboard the crazy train

[detonatability]

[ He takes some small measure of comfort in the fact that, although the artistic value of his jutsu is apparently utterly lost on this guy, it's clear he didn't understand it to begin with. The value of his own life? What a joke. Deidara wasn't suicidal, he was an artist. ]

You don't know the first thing about it. The beauty of life and art is in it's transience.

[ He's had this same conversation with Itachi countless times, though calling it a conversation is a loose description of a one-sided argument. That Uchiha hardly listened, so it makes sense that their whole cursed bloodline wouldn't understand art if it slapped them in the face. Deidara had literally done just that to Sasuke, after all, and here the brat stands with that same infuriating, impassive expression on his face.

Artistic or not, the urge to grab him by the face and pry his eyes out of his skull just so he doesn't have to look at them anymore is still there. Deidara's hands twitch, as though he's only just curbing the impulse. ]

The only mistake I made was wasting my ultimate art on you.

this is my favorite train, YES

[eyeforaneye]

We can agree that that was a mistake. [ Which is at least some measure of compromise, pitiful though it may be. Where Deidara views it as casting pearls before swine and wasting his artistic creativity on a layman without the desire or ability to appreciate it, Sasuke views it much more harshly and practically. Plain and simple, he had survived.

What's the point of giving your life in battle if the enemy survives? ]

What else would I be referring to? Throwing your life away on a superior fighter was never going to work out in your favor. [ Danzou had tried the same thing, after all, to similar effect. He's still here, the truest cockroach of the Uchiha. And one of the least humble. ]

Are you going to be a problem here? If you decide to go around causing needless explosions it'd be good to have advance warning.

[detonatability]

[ Why does he feel like something is really wrong with the fact Sasuke agrees with him... and like he's somehow lost this quasi-argument in the process... But the suspicious expression on his face wipes into, once again, indignation. ]

Shut up! That wasn't the point!

[ The point was the explosion, Sasuke, dammit!! He gestures sharply. It's not a threat of attack so much as just, Deidara gesticulating with the enthusiasm that follows his blood pressure rising. ]

How dare you, they aren't needless explosions. And anyway, I —

[ Hrk. His teeth clack together when he abruptly shuts his mouth. Deidara flushes, realizing his mistake even though it's too late to cover it up. Admitting a weakness to an enemy... what is he, twelve?? ]

[eyeforaneye]

[ Deidara's mouth runs as fast as his temper rises, a man truly dictated by his emotions. Is that what makes a true artist? He doesn't know. He doesn't care. If he did care, this would not be the man with which he shared his theories. Sasuke's preferences are more in line with ancient poetry and fine-tuning his calligraphy rather than any kind of fleeting destructive reaction. What's the point?

#teamsasori ]

"And anyway" you can't create them as you normally would, [ he supplies, one brow raising. ] Then that's enough of an answer for me for now. We have nothing else to discuss.

[ Firmly back on his bullshit, Sasuke again turns around. ]

[detonatability]

That doesn't mean I can't! Hey! I'm talking to you, dammit!

[ Whatever his embarrassment, he recovers quickly. His hand pulls up into a fist and he takes half a step forward as Sasuke turns around. The other points at him, even though his back is turned and the whole charade is completely lost on the other shinobi. ]

You're in the same boat as me anyway!

[ Okay, not entirely, but if the rules of this world make any sort of sense then Sasuke wouldn't have retained his old abilities, either. ]

[eyeforaneye]

[ They're beginning to draw attention again. Initially they'd been little more than a fleeting distraction for the people wondering if this is yet another lovers' quarrel, a breakdown between Bondmates, or a good old-fashioned disagreement over market prices. Now? It's clear it's more, and Sasuke is reluctant to pause again. ]

I'm not.

Your identity is tied entirely to your specific kind of art. You assume mine is tied to my eyes, but I can fight in other ways. Are you willing to?

[detonatability]

[ Sasuke keeps walking, but that doesn't deter him. Deidara marches steadfastly in his wake, apparently dedicated to this task for the moment. His gaze only cuts sidelong briefly, when he spots a few heads turning curiously in their direction — and while Deidara is not at all embarrassed about causing a scene, he does actually know how to be discrete when it's necessary.

He does a little half-skip jog to catch up again, walking a half pace behind Sasuke, glaring up at him. The sense of de ja vu is intense. He's been in this position before, with another Uchiha.

At least he isn't shouting anymore, speaking in more of an intense hiss. ]

Of course I can fight in other ways, but I'm not giving up on my art, mm! I'm going to find a way to recreate it here, and then you'll have no choice but to acknowledge it.

[eyeforaneye]

[ Would it be petty to start walking faster? Or would it be the only logical path left to a man pushed to the brink of sanity by a high-ponied pop artist? The real clincher in all of this is that he's now thinking about how pleasant some new ceramics would look in his kitchen, newly drawn to material aesthetics thanks to his vampirism, and Deidara would be able to make some stunning pieces. What a shame. ]

And why would I be forced to acknowledge it?

Because it would explode and threaten to take me down with it? [ YOU TRIED THAT ]