Intro Log: October 2020

[faileas]

Intro Log: October

I. ARRIVAL 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. A moment later, you feel a tug, and you find yourself stumbling into a dark, musty room. Behind you, a mirror stands ornately decorated with reminders of home wrought in brass and wood: the faces of people you know, and symbols important to you; all things that send a pang through your chest with the desire to return to them. Touching the mirror's surface does nothing but leave the stain of your fingerprints. When you turn to survey the room, you find there are hundreds of other mirrors. None of them are as decorated as yours - they're plain and dusty, speckled with age. Then you realize a second thing: You're not alone. Distantly, the ringing bell of a clocktower can be heard. But no matter its distance, the time is clear to make out: it chimes three times, stark, resonating like a pulse of something in this mirrored hall that you and many others have found yourselves in. For those familiar with magic, they might feel the power of the witching hour upon them, though it will feel different from what they're used to - in fact, everything does. You're certainly not the only ones here, however. On the first floor, with the doors wide open behind them in the foyer, is a small group headed by two individuals. As people begin to arrive, to come from the higher floor, they're waiting - and they're waiting for you, and your questions. Explore the rest of the mirrored halls you've now found yourselves in, or proceed to the foyer? Leaving the Looking-Glass House makes it obvious that the clock striking three was for 3 AM - the night sky is faintly cloudy, but the stars are dim in the face of two moons, even so close to the new moon as it is. The Looking-Glass House is rather nondescript two-story cottage made of grey brick, sitting at the edge of The Coven's courtyard; stones which glow as you step on them mark the path to and from the two buildings. While fairly small and plain on the outside, the inside has been enchanted to be the size of a large library, with hundreds upon hundreds of mirrors hanging, standing, and resting inside its walls. Some are broken, some are cracked, and some seem completely uninjured - but all of them are just as plain as the cottage itself, showing age in the silver beneath their glass and in the greening of their metals... Well, all except a character's personal mirror; to characters, one mirror - the one they came through - will be decorated lavishly with metal-and-wood-wrought reminders of home, and the surface will be as clear as a brand-new mirror.

II. THE WELCOME PARTY Whether you've decided to find a way out of the building you've arrived in, or decided to explore the rest of the Looking-Glass House - and perhaps finding a few familiar faces among the crowd - you feel a pull towards the foyer of the first floor. It's like a firm suggestion, as if to take you by the hand and draw you to where it begins, and the source of it becomes quite apparent upon finding one's way to the front room: a tall, comfortably-dressed older woman and her even taller wolfish companion, along with those which feel to resemble yourselves in a world-traversing sense: Mirrorbound, they're called. "My goodness. In the middle of the month! We weren't expecting you, we weren't!" The woman smiles broadly, with her Bonded glancing over the newly arrived and those who may have followed them in to volunteer explanations and assistance to the newest addition of their Mirrorbound bunch. "Let's get through the introductions, shall we? This here's Mhairi Ainsley, ambassador to the Parliament, and of course, my Bonded. And I'm Nerissa Bell, Head Witch of the Coven -- but you can just call me Miss Nessie, you can," she adds with a wink. "I know you must all be tired and confused after all that. We're here to help get you settled, dearest. Let me just..." With nothing more than a wave of her hand, rows of seats are summoned; despite their wooden nature, they're all sturdy and comfortable, filling the foyer and spreading out a ways into the lawn behind them, making room for all of the new arrivals as well as the previous batch. After all, they'll find this just as interesting. The Witches and Monsters that accompanied Nessie and Mhairi move to make room, and some disperse into the building itself to see if there's anyone who needs tending to. Mhairi steps forward as the chairs materialize. "Please, those who are able, join us for a moment. There are many questions that I'm sure you have. We will do our utmost best to answer them, and you may take any that we can't as a promise to find some sort of solution or answer." NOTE: If you wish to handwave interaction with Nessie and Mhairi, please comment here. All responses will be summarized answers rather than an IC thread. For those that'd like a more player-based interaction, Aefenglom has its own Welcome Wagon! These are players who've volunteered for the role, and those that didn't sign up may assist as well if they'd feel their character would -- have fun, and make friends. Additionally, those with notable injuries or sickness will be attended to ASAP by Coven-based witches, and should anyone be curious about what they are -- namely, if they have magic potential or not -- then this can be done during this and the general hour or so the new arrivals are within the Coven's grounds. There are ongoing classes on magic, monsters, and Bonding as well, though they take place more during the day than at night. Feel free to have your characters attend them at any time!

III. THE HAVEN After an hour or two of general chaos, questions that the natives attempt to help with, and injuries tended to for those who arrive in poor condition, it's time to make the trek to where you'll be staying. As you're leaving -- with Coven and/or Mirrobound escorts as guides -- you'll be given a peculiar-looking device. It's a very special watch, the native Witches explain, compliments of Parliament. These watches are passed around to all the new arrivals, who are given a quick rundown on their functions and encouraged to test them out when they can. They can even do it as they make their way out of the Coven's courtyard and to the Haven. Formerly part of the Aristocratic District, The Haven is just as well-kept and brightly-lit as the district it hails from. The houses err on the tall and ornamental side, large enough to fit several families (or, according to the upper class, their one family, several dozen servants, and guests), especially closest to the Aristocratic District. They become a little more modest and smaller as one gets away from the realm of high society and nearer to the Residential District proper. Newcomers are shuffled here and invited to find somewhere to live, free of cost. The Coven is currently handling expenses for the houses themselves in a program implemented by the Parliament, though if your character wishes to have anything extra -- like maids, chefs, and so on -- they'll have to pay for them with their own earned money. Much of the landscape and fixtures are the same as in the Aristocratic Districts, though it lacks formal emergency services. Much of the housing already has furnishing as well: standard items such as kitchenware, couches, beds, etc. were left behind by the relocated owners for those moving in. Though some are fairly newly-unoccupied, the dust on the floors of other houses suggests they were left long before the new arrivals even showed up -- a reminder that the Cwyld can strike just about anyone, regardless of standing. Another portion of this district has been opened up to the new arrivals: the barracks, the row of buildings pressed against the very edge of the Bright Wall. As the city's military force no longer has the same presence it previously did, the barracks have gone into disuse, and a cleanup effort has been in place since before the new arrivals came through the Looking-Glass House. For those who desire something a little less opulent, the barracks might just be the answer. The barracks can also be used for business, for a welcome center, a communal space, for anything that the residents of the Haven see fit to use them for -- so long as the legality isn't questionable, at least on the surface. To help with filling up the larger houses -- and even some of the smaller ones, or the shared rooms in the barracks -- the Coven put together a little roommate finding service, on a smaller scale from the grand opening of the Haven a while back. For those who aren't entirely sure who they want to shack up with, they have a small survey for them to fill out and post on the board they've magicked up in the center of The Haven. The board also very helpfully reads aloud each form for everyone to hear in a cheerful, monotone voice. It isn't able to be shut up, nor is it easy to ignore, being imbued with a kind of amplification magic. It simply reads the information you've offered up yourself -- or that someone might have written up for you, should that be their idea of fun.

Welcome to the intro log! While mingling on the log itself is highly encouraged, feel free to make your own logs if you prefer! The network system is free to use once characters have their watches as well; information on that can be found at the bottom of the Setting page, while any extra questions about it can be found in the FAQ index. Quests can be picked up throughout the month as well! While new characters will have to get settled in, you can go ahead and put your name on some by replying to the October's Quest Pickup thread on the Quest Board. Finally, if your character is getting into any Shenanigans or if you have any other questions, just let the mods know here!

Comments

[chefalier]

[Bring in people from any era, any time. The possible ramifications of such interactions are definitely extreme, if such odds roll around where they might meet Luffy or Usopp or anyone else from the far future or past. Heck, the idea of seeing Luffy when he's already become pirate king would be something. ...Although, the thought sends a mixture of emotions through Sanji, so he just squishes the idea down for now.

No point in thinking of what ifs right now.

Especially not when the lovely Nami-sawn is in front of him...! And asking about his health no less!]

Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm probably turning into a vampire.

[He's just going to say this with a nonchalant expression while continuing to stand in the sun.]

1/3

[weatherscience]

[ nami, on her part, has given just enough thought to the timelines to realize it means they might see people who are already dead, or coming from their futures, and as such, she immediately labeled it as troublesome and decided to think of it as little as necessary.

what she does think about, however, is sanji. and his all-too-casual declaration of what he's turning into. ]

E —

EEEHHHH???

[ excuse her ear-splitting screech for a second there. ]

2/3

[weatherscience]

[ after surprise comes concern, and nami's expression wobbles dangerously. ]

Sanji-kun...

[ oh no, and here she had been hoping he might be a witch like her, so as to be spared from any changes... a vampire!! oh no, oh no, that's bad, isn't it? can he even eat normal food after this? what will this do to his cooking?

and how — ]

3/3 this is an emotion per tag

[weatherscience]

HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM ABOUT THIS??!

[ ah.... here it is. her yelling, complete with her fist connecting with the side of his head. ]

You should have said something! You've been standing here under the sun all this time!! How stupid can you be?

[ swift in her anger, she reaches for the clima-tact. ] Zeus! Come out and cover him!

1/2

[chefalier]

[Even with Nami-san screeching right next to his ear does nothing to lower his admiration and love for her...! After all, a woman's feelings are everything!!

Although, full out concern passes through Sanji when he notices how her expression falls, a certain seriousness and almost guilt spreading across his face. The last thing he wanted to do is be the cause of that upset look, especially after Whole Cake Island. What sort of man does something like that?

He has to say something, reassure her.]

Nami-san...

[Except, she's yelling now--]

[chefalier]

[Ow.

No matter who or what he faces, Nami-san's punches still hurt the most. It's fine though...! These are punches he'll gladly endure and wear! A goofy smile instantly replaces the seriousness from earlier, even as Nami continues to scold him about it. He probably should take this a bit more seriously, but he's just too enamored!

He can't help it. Nami is so resourceful too, summoning Zeus from her clima-tact to help relieve him from getting beaten down by the sun. Sanji can feel himself ease his posture, clear that the sudden covering is really doing him some good.]

Always on top of things...! So cool~

[And okay, he's not the biggest fan of the weird shitty cloud, but since Nami summoned Zeus to help him, he's not going to complain.]

[weatherscience]

[ at sanji's... sanji-ness, nami just sighs. but it's a relieved one, now that he's no longer in danger of getting burned. ]

Right... Zeus, from now on, follow Sanji-kun so you can keep him safe from the sun! Unless he doesn't want you there, then you return to me, clear?

[ zeus turns towards her with a weak, yes, miss nami, and then that's that. ]

And you! [ this time, it's obviously addressed to sanji. ] When were you going to tell me the sun was hurting you? Honestly! [ but then, she just lets it go. ] Come on, let's go to my house. I have a spare room, you can stay there. We can figure everything out later.

[chefalier]

[In that exact moment, for once in his life, Sanji is able to relate most to a cloud.

Of course, he's far more happy to serve Nami-swan whenever she wants him to do something...! But. Him and cloud. They're servants to her and... okay, Sanji is not going to lose to some fucking cloud. He's going to serve Nami even if she works him raw-- especially if she does.

But Sanji is dragged out of his deep thoughts when Nami addresses him.]

...

[Blink. Pause. Blink. And then--]

N-Nami-swan, are you inviting me to live in a house with you?!

[Cue multiple fantasies rushing through his mind, complete with a small noseblood. Just imagining him and Nami-san living a cute domestic life together...! Never mind the fact that they technically live together anyway on Thousand Sunny.]

[weatherscience]

[ .... oh, right. she probably should have anticipated this. ]

Yes, but that's just for convenience! I'm tired of cooking for myself, and if you take the spare room, you can clean it yourself, so that's one less room for me to clean!

[ that's..... absolutely not the reason at all, it's because she's tired of living on her own, tired of missing her friends, tired of the quiet, empty house. her cat helps, but tangerine is hardly the same as her real friends. ]

Oh, you don't mind a cat, do you? I got Tangerine a while ago, so she'll be there with us.

[chefalier]

You won't need to worry about that room anymore~~ And you won't need to worry about food either. I'm your personal slave!

[Sanji is way too happy declaring that.

Nonetheless, he's all about keeping a clean area, but more importantly, he wants to resume his duties in cooking for his nakama. He's just fully reunited with Luffy and the others back home, but he barely had time to cook for them before arriving in this city. The thought will always be a little disheartening to Sanji.

Nonetheless, even though the other Straw Hats aren't here, Sanji is still glad that he can cook for Nami.]

A cat? Of course I don't mind. [...Actually, it's not surprising to Sanji to hear Nami owning a cat.]

we can probably start wrapping this one up soon, y/n?

[weatherscience]

Great!

[ and nami takes that declaration in stride.... as per usual.

but there's real enthusiasm there, too — just like everyone else, she too has missed his cooking. ]

She's been a nice companion to have... but be careful, she can teleport. [ she starts leading him towards the house. ] Now, come on. I can fill you in on what's going on with this place on the way there.