Event Log: April, Tangled Terrors Part 1

[faileas]

Event Log: April, Tangled Terrors Part One

I. A Spreading Problem The request for help from the nameless city Underground comes at the beginning of the month through intermediaries - characters who have maintained good relationships with the city and its leader, or Wilders posted at the Northern Outpost. They have good reason to speak up. It starts within the herds of velvet wormipedes, horse-sized or larger worms that serve as food, pets, and mounts, making them an important part of survival underground. It was the farmers who first noticed it, and they theorized that it was caught and started to spread when they took the worm herds out to graze in an outer cavern. What seemed to be a new disease causing oily blackened skin and various mutations has been confirmed to be Cwyld, but the veil of protective moss that surrounds and protects the city did not react the way it normally does to the infected (by gobbling them up upon entry), letting them pass with little more than a shudder of recoiling movement. By now, they’ve isolated any infected members of the herd to the grazing cavern outside the city or put them down outright and burned the bodies, but as the days pass, the phenomenon grows only more worrying. Some proactive Mirrorbound who answered the initial call to investigate will have a head-start on the information, but the Arachne leader of the Underground, the Matriarch, is upfront about what they know so far. She holds a small meeting with would-be helpers where she lets them know that her Witches from the Academy were out in the tunnels branching off the grazing cavern within the last couple of weeks, practicing the method of leyline clearing that the Mirrorbound taught them some time ago to try and drive the Cwyld back. Their efforts were abandoned when the Witches’ magic malfunctioned and caused backlash, and their Monster guards with keener hearing started to pick up on a peculiar throbbing or pulsing sound from distantly within the walls. Any who are willing to lend a hand and investigate are offered whatever supplies they request, shelter within the City when they need to return to rest, and the assistance of any of their Witches and warriors as needed. The Matriarch thinks that whatever they find out there may be useful - or dreadful - knowledge for both their peoples. They want to know what was preventing the leyline from being cleared, and what this infection or disease is that is affecting wildlife and their own herds - curing it will eventually be a priority, but fact-finding has to come first.

II. Danger in the Deep (Underground) Branching out from the place that the worm herd were grazing when the infection set in, it becomes more clear that the situation is dire. This is not a normal, relatively slow-moving Cwyld infection, but something stronger and more sinister that has sunk its claws deep into the branching leylines. An oily black substance runs through the stone walls and floor of the tunnels in thick veins, dripping slowly in dark streaks, and the air in the tunnels feels heavier than usual. Far from showing any signs of the Matriarch’s people trying to clear the leyline, it feels even worse, more severely tainted. This only seems more likely when you start to encounter wildlife bearing the same kind of infection as the worms, oily black patches on their skin, aggression that exceeds the norm for their species. Bats and blind, white wasps and huge, glittering beetles have grown even bigger, and begun to mutate in unusual, grotesque ways. They’ll need to be put down - there is no getting past them peacefully, and no saving these creatures. Even if you don’t kill them, the infection will, as you’ll find - farther along, you start to find mutated, infected corpses as well, like oily smears on the stone and barely recognizable. And then there’s the sound, discordant in the quiet of the Underground. It’s difficult to hear at first, faint, but farther along when you get close to the walls, a distant, steady pulsing sound seems to chill you right down to your bones, as if the walls have a heartbeat of their own. None of the natives have ever heard it before, and if you have any citizens of the Underground in your search party, many of them with stronger senses are visibly scared, growing paranoid and agitated as time passes. Tracking the leylines, or the sound of the pulsing in the walls, will take several days of exploration, deeper into the tunnels than the natives remember venturing before, and those days will be plagued with danger and unrest. Keep in touch with your fellows in town as well, though Watch reception will be spotty - it will become clear that this is no longer just an Underground problem. a. Leyline Clearing It seems like a good idea at first to try and clear some part of the infected leylines, if only to cut the infection off from traveling further, as it uses the pathways of natural magic that cut through the earth like a highway to cover more ground quicker. It seems to move with each pulse in the walls, creeping a little farther along. The leyline in the Silent Forest outside the Northern Outpost, set on a path to healing last year, seems like child’s play in comparison to this herculean effort, though. Be careful, Witches. Even just one push of your magic into this infected leyline triggers a backlash that rings in your ears and wracks your body with soul-deep pain. Those who are un-Bonded, who have no Monster partner to help cushion the impact, feel it worse than those who are Bonded. But those who are Bonded, their partners can feel the pain too - lessened, more spread out over the two or three or four of you, but still intense. Even without touching the walls or the floor, the infection can spread through your magic, into you, your Bonded, and those around you if you cast the spell as a group. b. Infection Rather than settling into the body at first, this Cwyld settles into your magic, your soul, your innate connection with the world, whether you’re Witch or Monster. It’s harder to guard against it, even by taking the usual precautions. The side-effects are terrible; while the Mirrorbound in Aefenglom feel it too, all those symptoms are much stronger down here closer to the source. Trying to use your magic as a Witch (and sometimes your less physical abilities as a Monster) results in backlash, misfiring, or even a dangerous drain in energy. Reaching for one’s magic might be as natural as breathing for most Witches, but now it feels like trying to reach through a thick fog, sticky and cloying. Spells go awry, coming out as the opposite effect from the caster’s intention, or a completely different, unforeseen result (think: Wild Magic in D&D). Sometimes you can’t pull on your magic or abilities at all, and sometimes you wildly misjudge how much force to use, resulting in danger for those around you, especially in these tight, underground spaces. Interacting too much or too often with the tainted magic causes pain and fatigue at the very least, and for some even more uncomfortable effects, such as numbness of the extremities, temporary blindness, nausea or full unconsciousness. These effects are much more prominent in Witches, especially those un-Bonded, though some Monsters may feel similar, lesser effects on some of their abilities. Monsters are not immune, especially growing closer to the sinister source. Those who are Bonded to Witches can feel the strain the tainted magic puts on them, and those who aren’t, or whose Bonds aren’t strong, find that they feel the tainted pulse of the heartbeat in the walls acutely, driving them to paranoia, fear, rage, or even ferality. All Monsters on this mission will find that they’re prone to nightmares when they do try to catch some rest - the content of the nightmares varies depending on the person, but they’re all unsettling, and they all feature prominently the image of a blackened tree, the trunk bearing faces frozen in masks of horror, and the picture of gnarled roots reaching down, down, down. c. Tangled Ties As the Cwyld in the walls grows more prominent, taking on an appearance like thick, oily, veiny roots, tangled and twisted, so too does the Cwyld work to tangle the ties that bind you. Those who don’t, or can’t, keep their Bonded in close physical proximity may find that their Bond feels weaker, or perhaps it begins to only transmit negative emotions like pain or fear. They may find their Bonds shifting, or even snapping, tangling or twisting in ways they shouldn’t. All of a sudden, you might even find yourself with a completely different Bond, being drawn to a stranger or an acquaintance you certainly weren’t Bonded to before. If you didn’t have a Bond already, you might find yourself with one (or more) now - or a twisted approximation of one, as anyone who experiences this will soon find out that the magic isn’t quite what it’s supposed to be. It can’t be nullified as usual, broken off or switched back intentionally (though some days it might end up snapping to someone else instead), and down here, you only have each other, your Underground hosts, and a spotty Watch connection for help. All the infected wildlife seems to die out, as days later, your parties find their way close to the source of the pulsing in the walls. An entrance hewn out of the stone opens into what feels like a truly massive cavern, judging from the change in the airflow. The Cwyld is thick here, concentrated in what seem to be rough, blackened roots all in a tangle like a thick curtain. You can hear the heartbeat-like sound louder now, a steady thump-thump, thump-thump. Whatever lies in wait past that curtain of roots, you know in your gut that once you enter, you won’t be able to leave until the problem is dealt with. Resupply, recruit help, try to sort the snarled threads of your Bonds - it’s going to be rough from here.

III. Reaching Tendrils (Aefenglom, Northern Outpost) The Matriarch’s briefing is, soon after it’s given, relayed to the Coven and then to the rest of the Mirrorbound, through some of the Wilders or perhaps through other characters themselves. That, at least, is a good thing, to provide some kind of warning for what happens next. In far worse news, the effects of the malaffected leylines are not limited to the tunnels of the Underground, or even the nearby Northern Outpost. Somehow, just a few days after things take a worse turn down below and surrounding the Outpost, they reach as far as the city. The effects of the infected leyline overflow like a burst dam, tainted magic spilling out from the Cwyld-strangled Underground caverns and through their connected, invisible tributaries beneath the earth, stretching miles outward with each passing day. The Northern Outpost and the Wilde around it, being closest, are affected first, and it hits the northernmost parts of Aefenglom by the 10th of the month - proving just how interconnected completely unrelated places can be on Geardagas. a. Snarled Magics Wilder, Coven, and Mirrorbound Witches alike, anyone who needs to draw on the power of the world’s magic, find it feeling increasingly resistant and… unpleasant. Here too, Witches find that reaching for their magic is like battling through sticky, dark fog. It becomes more and more difficult to gauge how much magic is needed even for the simplest of spells: sometimes, you might try to cast only to have nothing at all happen, and other times, the magic bursts forth many times more powerful than intended, causing a dangerous drain on the caster and all sorts of hazards for people and property caught in the unpredictable outburst. Spells go awry, coming out as the opposite effect from the caster’s intention, or a completely different, unforeseen result (think: Wild Magic in D&D). Those with more experience or inordinate willpower may be able to push through, especially if they work together to cast group spells instead, but not without consequence; interacting too much or too often with the tainted magic causes pain and fatigue at the very least, and for some even more uncomfortable effects, such as numbness of the extremities, temporary blindness, nausea or full unconsciousness. Of course, one could simply choose not to use any magic, but how long can a Witch last without casting even a little bit? For those with Bonds, matters are even worse; a Witch is always expending some minor magical power toward their Bonded, after all. In some cases, the connection doesn’t respond well, causing paranoid and unhappy feelings, vivid shared nightmares or increased agitation, among other similar emotional side effects. b. Twisted Bonds Bonded pairs from the Underground all the way to Aefenglom will also feel the instability in their Bond increasing over the next couple of weeks, making it difficult to feel one another’s presence as normal. If the Bond isn’t treated with care and partners aren’t in close physical proximity often enough, the strain is even greater. In some rare cases, it might even… snap and shift, suddenly getting tangled up or twisted, your strings all snarled in the wrong ways. All of a sudden, you might even find yourself with a completely different Bond, being drawn to a stranger or an acquaintance you certainly weren’t Bonded to before. If you didn’t have a Bond already, you might find yourself with one (or more) now - or a twisted approximation of one, as anyone who experiences this will soon find out that the magic isn’t quite what it’s supposed to be. It can’t be nullified as usual, broken off or switched back intentionally (though some days it might end up snapping to someone else instead), and even the Coven’s most experienced Witches have no answers as to why. While use of magic is unpredictable for most, if not all, Witches, the Bond problems, however, seem to be affecting only the Mirrorbound. Seek out your new Bonded and make the best of it for now: you’re going to need each other’s support, especially if you’re a Witch unable to cast normally while the groups of volunteers in the Underground work tirelessly to make things right. Despite the onslaught of unstable magic and unstable Bonds, of unsettling feeling and a pervasive sense of wrongness, it's up to you to hold down the home front, helping where you can as the magical mishaps rack up and raiding the libraries of the Coven and Undermael College for research, no matter how it all starts to wear on you.

Welcome to Tangled Terrors, Part One! Proving that the settlements of Geardagas are a little more connected than they seem on the surface... This is just the first half of the event, but the negative effects on using magic and on Bonds will be present until after Part Two, when the problem is dealt with. These are optional, opt-in effects except for the difficulty in using magic if you're a Witch - and you can go more mild with that if you'd like, but it will be part of life for most of the month.

If you'd like to find some tainted Bonds to tangle with, we've provided a plotting header here! You can change up Bonds as often and as unexpectedly as you'd like. As always, direct your event-related questions here! And finally, the event plotting post is over here!

Part Two of this event will go up on the 17th, and will be an Underground locale-only event (meaning there will not be an Aef-focused prompt), dealing with the root of the newly-woken issue that plagues the leyline running between the Underground and Aefenglom.

Comments

QUESTIONS

[moustre]

FIND A BOND

[faileas]

Looking for some mixed-up Bond shenanigans? Fill out the form below and find a buddy!

If you'd like to have your character randomly Bonded to more than one other person, or you want to switch up their Bonds more than once, that's okay. There are no limitations on the number of times the tainted Bonds can change around this month.

Player: your name
Character: character name
Current Bonds? list your character's current Bonds, if any
Plans: What are you looking for? Do you want to swap Bonds with someone, add another random Bond to the one you already have, or something else? How many of these wacky temp Bonds are you trying to get this month? Really, anything you want to write here that will let others know what you want to play!

<b>Player:</b> your name <b>Character:</b> character name <b>Current Bonds?</b> list your character's current Bonds, if any <b>Plans:</b> What are you looking for? Do you want to swap Bonds with someone, add another random Bond to the one you already have, or something else? How many of these wacky temp Bonds are you trying to get this month? Really, anything you want to write here that will let others know what you want to play!

Yona | Akatsuki no Yona | Witch

[darkestbefore]

A. Drums in the Deep

[ Yona is among the first of the Mirrorbound to head out with one of the expeditions from the Underground. Having already been down in the outpost after the initial request for help with the wormipedes, she'd been more than willing to volunteer after hearing the Matriarch's request for aid. And hearing what had happened to others that had already come out here and tried.

She's been in these tunnels now more often than she can count. She's even becoming familiar with tracking her way through them - even if she hadn't had guides along from the underground city. but this time the tunnels feel... different. Darker. As if the stone walls surrounding them are somehow pressing down thickly, heavily, weighting the very air that surrounds them. It's an eerie feeling, one that has her even more alert and concerned than usual.

And as they move deeper into the warren of caves, she's among the first to hear that distant rhythm echoing along the walls. Stopping, she steps to the side of the tunnel and finds a clear spot of stone to place her palm against the cool surface. From her touch, she can almost feel that distant thrum of a heartbeat. That has certainly never been here before.

Perplexed, she turns to the other Mirrorbound with her. ]

Can you hear that, too?

B. A Shadow Moves in the Dark

[ Yona has worked to clear these leylines before. In fact, she'd been among those in the Mirrorbound who had shown the Underground Witches how to do it in the first place. Hoping that perhaps working their way deeper and purifying the magic as they go will offer some relief from the strange tension and heaviness in the air, Yona steps into one of the side chambers along this stretch of cavern where she knows veins of exposed leylines break through the surface of the rock.

Even here, signs of new infection are apparent, dripping down the walls and pooling in inky puddles on the floor. She has to sidestep several reaching tendrils of it as she makes her way towards one of the exposed leylines and she can hear the nervous murmuring of the native citizens with them as they grow more afraid at this pause in their journey.

Crouching down, she lays her hand over the leyline and calls up her magic. In this amount, it's the first time she's done so since she'd started pressing deep into these caves, other than a few small light spells along the way.

What she's not expecting is for her magic to suddenly surge up through her like a tsunami, far more than she'd called for and far more powerful than she'd intended. It explodes out of her with a sudden blast of light and an audible whoosh of air and the next thing she knows is she's being flung back through the cavern by the force of her own magic to land heavily against stone with a pained cry.

She may need a hand here. ]

C. They Are Coming

[ Following that sound deeper into the underground caves, that tension she'd felt earlier seems only to grow. A sense of wrongness, one that makes all her instincts stand on edge and scream a warning.

A valid one, it seems, when they turn a corner and there's a sudden chorus of high-pitched shrieks from the cavern ceiling and a flurry of dark, cwyld-rotted wings and suddenly the tunnel is filled with startled, flying bodies.

Yona ducks with a shriek of her own, trying to cover her head. ]

Look out!!

D. Cannot Get Out

[ The deeper the expedition goes, the deeper Yona can feel the infection in her magic growing. It's insidious and aggressive, and there are times her magic surges up again in uncontrollable little bursts, or when attempting to call on it has it fizzling out moments after she reaches for it. It becomes completely unreliable - which is the hardest part after she's come to count on it so heavily over the past year.

She considers turning back, but they've already come so far she thinks that may be a worse option. They need to get to the source of this new infection, need to stop it before it reaches further and affects even more. But that doesn't lessen the pain that starts throbbing through her with any use of magic. Of the exhaustion that starts weighing down her steps. Even when they stop to rest, her slumber is restless and troubles, dreams caught in dark images and flashing shapes and the constant drumming thrum of a distant heartbeat.

When so often in the past her Bonds had been her foundation to steady herself against, the deeper they go, the less that feels true. She can feel such a jumble of emotions coming through from both Archer and Ferran that she can barely untangle them - all of them dark and sometimes terrifying in their own intensity, and smashing into her awareness like a physical blow. Her link to Caster feels... faded. Fainter. Despite the fact that she knows he's nearby, it's almost as if their Bond is stretched and frayed and ready to snap. That in itself is terrifying on top of everything else assaulting their little expedition.

Strained and weary, she's forced to stop at some point, falling a little behind those of the expedition that are still left to push forward into these caves, although she doesn't say anything to slow or stop their own passage. She needs a moment, lifting a hand to brace herself against the rock wall. A mistake, maybe, because it seems like the infection is everywhere here, but it was better than toppling over as she pauses to catch her breath and tries to push back the new wave of dark emotions she'd just been hit with. ]

E. Wildcard

(( Feel free to leave me a prompt of your own during any of this adventure as she presses towards the source of whatever's happening down here. You can hit me up on plurk at chaneystarr or leave me a reply on my plotting comment if you have ideas or questions! ))

closed: Sora

[darkcharge]

[ Vanitas really hadn't much cared for the Underground when he had traveled there the first time in the summer months. It had been clear back then that something isn't right with the place. Over all, he has had little interest in returning. Even when aid has been requested, Vanitas had sort of passed it over. What does he care about that place? Their little problems aren't his. He and what he considers his own are all that really matter. This world could burn but as long as his are safe, then that's fine.

Though that doesn't really work for Sora does it? It's only natural that the Puca wants to help the moment that he hears about it. Leylines? Pssht! They've worked on leylines before. This should be easy and it doesn't even sound like there will be Shades to deal with thsi time around! And come on... Vanitas has experience with dealing with them as a Witch. It will be good to get out and do something for a change!

That's probably why he ends up agreeing. It's still been a rough month and their Bond has suffered for it a little. This could be a good thing to go out and to do strengthen it. ]

If I end up drained because of this, then I'm going to blame you.

Alice Elliot | Shadow Hearts | Witch

[adventageous]

I. Assistance

[When word gets out that the Underground is infected with Cwyld and desperately needs assistance, Alice jumps at the chance to join the expedition. She's not familiar with the Underground like many of her fellow Mirrorbound are, but that's hardly a consideration as far as she's concerned. They need help, and she is capable of providing it.

The steady pulse is unnerving and reminiscent of the Neameto Float, which is enough to make Alice's skin crawl and her blood run cold. Her time in the Float is not a pleasant memory, especially because it began the awful process of Yuri's curse slowly killing her. It's not difficult for her mind to play tricks and convince her that the same fate awaits her here, too.

Of course, that line of thinking is useless and unproductive. So Alice smiles often in the early days of the trek downwards despite how she feels, reaching out to her fellow Mirrorbound to offer gloves, protective barriers and other related abjuration spells, rations, and words of encouragement.]


II. Infection

[Keeping up the façade becomes much more difficult after the group finds itself unable to cleanse the infected leylines. Alice isn't one of the witches who pushed her magic into the cleansing attempt, but she jumped in quickly to provide aid to the ones who had. The infection spread into her then, twisting her healing into a painful experience for both her and her targeted patient. One particularly bad misfire nearly took off someone's head, and it was at that point that Alice realized that she is in trouble.

But there's still a mission, and Alice intends to see it through. She feels terrible, light-headed and nauseated, but at least she has her facilities and all five senses. That's better than some.

And it's good that she does. The tunnels are dangerous and filled with grotesqueries, including a swarm of wasps intent on attacking the group from the rear. Alice acts quickly, blasting a ray of light in their direction to inflict damage and get them to scatter, but she miscalculates two things:

1. the wasps are blind, so the only ones that are deterred at the ones hit directly by the beam
2. the intensity of the beam itself

She skids back several feet and crashes into someone, nearly knocking both to the ground.]

I'm sorry.

[That's all she has time to say, since the wasps are still an active threat.]


III. Separation (Closed to Karin)

[The sickness in Alice's soul spreads as the party continues its descent. She's doing her best to ignore it and persevere, knowing that there is no true relief to be had until after this is over and Underground purified. The whole cavern is infected, so casting any kind of curing spell on herself is a waste of energy at best and an accidental suicide at worst. Again, she thinks of the Float. And again, she hates how the association to that place makes her feel.

What finally stops her in her tracks is the sudden snapping of her Bond. It hits her like a knife to the heart, and Alice collapses mid-stride with a sharp cry. Her first thought is that something must have happened to Karin to cause the separation, but she finds herself in too much pain to move and find her.]

Karin?!

[Alice tries not to sound as panicked as she feels. She utterly fails at it.]


IV. Wildcard

If you have another idea, feel free to tag in! I can be reached at asondeiru or asondeiru#9009 if you’d like to plot.

Waver Velvet | Fate/Zero | Turnskin

[tryhard]

Ties That Bind (Aefenglom).

[ He begins to feel something of the unpleasant effects earlier in the month, the very vague echo of foreboding that shivers like a cold chill through his Bond with Iskandar. It's stretched thin already, but only with distance; Iskandar had left early in the month on an expedition to the Underground, responding to the call for help from the Wormipede farmers. Distance, however, had never before made his Bond feel so tenuous.

The nightmares don't help. None of them are clear, and he doesn't remember much when he wakes, but he knows enough: something is wrong. With how spotty the communication is between the Watches in the city and those in the Underground, on top of everything else, his anxiety for Iskandar down there is starting to reach the level of legitimate fear.

Waver is preparing to head out to the Northern Outpost himself in the next day or so, wrapping up anything urgent at work, delegating the rest to employees staying behind. If their experiment with the healing spell has to be put on hold, so be it. It's the last thing on his mind right now.

You might catch him at Inkchanted, locking up. Or on the streets of the Haven, heading home.

Suddenly, he freezes up, goes stiff, eyes wide. Dark canine ears flatten against his head, the blood draining out of his face. ]

Wh-what...? [ Waver's voice catches, quivering, gasping. He falls to a knee right there in the street, clutching his chest. ] No...

Fuck, no!

Search and Rescue (Northern Outpost).

[ Finally having gotten through the teleporter to the Northern Outpost, Waver frantically prepares to head down into the caves with the next expedition of however many stragglers still want to go down there. The problem is, he seems to have missed the majority by a few days at this point, and things are only getting worse. With the Wilder Witches struggling to keep their magic in check and the Monsters stretched thin trying to both protect them and protect against them, there aren't many hands left who can still be spared to lead Waver to the Underground, especially since only Mirrorbound are allowed to actually go through. ]

I don't care! Just give me a map and some equipment then. I'll go by myself!

[ Waver's voice rises, loud over the other shouts from people trying to calm down a nearby Witch, whose recent magical outburst had set a whole cart full of supplies on fire just a few minutes ago (which has thankfully been quickly put out). No wonder he's having trouble attracting anyone's attention in this chaos. ]

Listen to me, dammit!

Underground Unease.

[ He hasn't slept properly in days. It's the exhaustion catching up, probably. The weight of the underground pressing down, the dark and damp caverns, the claustrophobic feeling as they move deeper and deeper toward the ominous, faraway thrum of the earth. The shadows on the edge of his vision aren't real. He's just keyed up, stressed out. He just needs to focus. He needs to stay present, to be strong, especially for Iskandar.

But when someone brushes past him too close, or perhaps touches his arm or shoulder either in passing or to get his attention, all that anxiety bursts forth in a startling, uncharacteristic rage. With a loud, animal snarl that bares his sharp canines, Waver whirls around on whoever is nearby, moving to forcefully shove them away. ]

Don't touch me!

(( Wildcard option always available, hmu here if you want to plot! Open to Bond mix-ups in the Aefenglom prompt above and/or the Underground, so if you're interested in that, please let me know. Plurk is over at gunsandchocolate if you want to catch me over there. ))

Momo | IDOLiSH7 | Witch

[yesdoubt]

[a: expedition prep]

[Momo came out here after the initial call for help, having been very involved with the Underground early on and particularly with the leyline cleansing efforts. Hearing that the Cwyld has managed to get past the moss despite all their efforts with it last year is not a heartening prospect, but he manages to keep an upbeat determination even while treating this situation with the seriousness it deserves.

If anyone is less familiar with the Underground or what supplies they might need, or looks like they might need a bit of a run-down on what's happened so far, he's there at the ready, offering a grin that shows his long, pointed canines.]

Need a hand with anything? You looked a little like it.

--

[b: infection]

[Once they're down in the tunnels, the offputting, unsettling atmosphere sinks into Momo very quickly. It's an unfortunate fact of usually being very attuned to the mood of anywhere he is, but this particular environment puts him in a warier mood than some might be used to, hand near-constantly ready to respond to any Shades with either magic or his knife. Though his eyes trace the veins in the walls scrupulously as they pass, he doesn't attempt to cleanse the leylines here and now - even cleansing the normal infection had taken a group effort, and this one clearly isn't the same type of Cwyld as they've dealt with before.

As becomes all too obvious when a flock of infected bats or beetles comes flying down the tunnel, and Momo reacts instinctively with the easiest means of stopping a group of creatures in their tracks, hand raising as he draws one of his usual magic scrawls on his arm. There's a long second where he has to drag out the sluggish magic, already enough of a tell something is off--

--and then there's a loud, echoing snap through the tunnel as a massive area of airborne moisture freezes all at once. Sure, it stops the flock, but it also creates a frozen partial obstruction of half the tunnel as large, uneven spikes of ice splay out from the walls and fuse into the messy chunk that the infected creatures are frozen inside. Navigating the remaining space to get to the tunnel beyond without touching the infected veins in the walls is going to take some doing, and the unexpectedly large amount of magic used in that spell makes Momo's head swim. Before he realises, it's brought him to his hands and knees, though once he manages to refocus on the tunnel floor, he shakes his head and moves to push himself upright.]

It's fine, I'm fine. [It's almost a preemptive stonewalling of anyone who might've dared to worry about him.]

--

[c: tangled ties]
(a. i love mess*)

[Momo's two Bonds have not necessarily been the happiest places lately, but at least they've been consistent again, since the time he was brainwashed and they'd essentially been muted off from his end by the severity of the spell used to seal his memories.

That starts to change once they get deep enough into the tunnel, and he feels what almost seems like heartstrings tangling, a tightness and twisting in his chest that otherwise would be a sign of something horribly wrong. Though it makes him hold a hand to his chest, he presses on through the discomfort...until anything positive in the link is suddenly washed over by negative feelings, and Momo goes pale.]

Lio...? [Both Bonds are affected, but the quiet whisper for his first Bonded shifts to something closer to panic as he calls out for the one he knows is down here with him somewhere - why the hell did he agree to let Yuki come before they had a full understanding of what was going on down here? He wouldn't have even dreamt of it before some of the conversations they've had to have recently, but that doesn't mean he's not still wildly overprotective of his partner.] Yuki! Yuki, where are you?

[The size of the exploration team and the way it's straggled out over the course of the expedition isn't helping here, because there's no sign of Yuki in view at the moment. For all the stoicism and resolve Momo has shown throughout this mission, remaining calm in the face of the unknown, apparently a potential danger to his partner while he's not there to do something about it is all it takes to have him on the brink of tears as he rushes none-too-gently past another person.]

Sorry! [Even in that moment he spares to apologise, the panic and distraction is audible in his voice.]

[[*Threads on this prompt are intended to turn into three-person threads at a certain point, since Momo is unlikely to be settled until he tracks Yuki down, so be prepared for that if you tag into this prompt!]]

(b. new bonds**)

[In other situations, while Momo doesn't have any of his Bonds suddenly snap off despite all the twisting, he may find himself drawn towards someone else in the group. Perhaps it's someone he knows, or perhaps not - regardless, he seems to blink in surprise when he reaches them, then frowns like something is off.]

You're not... [One of his Bonded, which is what he thought he was unconsciously following.] Did something happen just now?

[He's initially wondering if this is a very weird spell backfire or something, because surely Bonds can't just appear like that.]

[[**Momo only has one free Bond slot, but I'm willing to cycle through different new Bonds for this section - this means it's likely he will not be Bonded to the same new person for the entire duration of the expedition, so bear this in mind if you tag in here.]]

--

[d: wildcard]

[[Feel free to hit me up for something else or plot something specific over on the plotting post or at reviseleviathan!]]

Iskandar | Fate/Zero | Witch

[towards_okeanos]

No rest for the tyrant (Tangled Ties - Underground, the City)

[What came at first as barely a whisper, an echo of the pulse in the walls of the tunnel, now grew to a roar. Like a heartbeat of a sleeping giant that's about to wake up. It makes him remember all the stories of Gods, Titans and their wars. Once he heard it, Iskandar cannot completely banish it from his consciousness no matter how much he tries. A constant, maddening rhythm, as if the earth itself was vibrating with it. It fills his waking hours with crawling anxiety, that fluttery feeling just under your skin that something eerie, unknown and unknowable is close. Just at the very edge of his awareness. Turn around and it vanishes. Sleep brings him no peace. And when he cannot sleep, he drinks.

Yet no amount of alcohol is able to chase away the sense of unease that quickly grows into panic. Something deeply wrong is happening to his Bond with Waver. He expected it to get a little fainter with distance, now that they so far apart. But its presence to remain, steady and grounding like a stream of sunshine warming him from the inside. But it is not. It ebbs and flickers, like a taut rope stretched too much, threatening to break under too much tension. It's worse in the tunnels that it is in the city. So when he fails to get whatever rest he can, Iskandar goes to sit with the strongest drink the locals would pour him and tries to call Waver. Yet, true to the saying that calamities like to travel in packs, his watch is failing him too.]

Come on, boy, pick up. For the love of gods, Waver! Please pick up.

[After another attempt yields nothing more then static Iskandar slams his fist on the table, spilling his drink on the table's surface, himself and his watch.]

βάλλ' εἰς κόρακας! Work you stupid piece of garbage!


Stars misaligned (Tangled Ties - Underground, unexpected Bond(s))

[Surprised by the sudden pull Iskandar lifts his gaze and stares with utter confusion at the face of the most unexpected person he were to find himself having such an intimate connection with. All his fears, hopes, the exhaustion, and the anguish, laid bare for the other to see.]

I... what? How on earth did that happen?!


Red is for the rage (Danger in the Deep - Underground, the tunnels)

[Already bleeding from too many wounds Iskandar stumbles. Only some of those he got from the swarm of insects that pursues them now or the other creature they encountered earlier. The rest are the effects of his botched attempts at curing the ones he did receive from the stings and the mandibles. Or the runes on his armour activating at all the wrong moments with effects starkly different from those they were made for. The burns on his right hand will take some time to heal on their own. If he's even going to survive long enough for that.

To his rising horror and anger, his magic has started failing the moment he went underground. Nothing he did worked. At first, he attributed it to exhaustion and lack of sleep. He should have known better from the start. He should have known it can't be trusted. He should have remembered it is evil.
Iskandar kicks the intrusive thoughts into the same dark corner of his mind where he keeps all his bad memories. He has a task at hand, and he's still fully capable of dealing with whatever this mad world throws at him the old-fashioned way. By sword, spear and fist.]

Alright, people! Regroup! Don't let them surround us!

[The buzzing, dark cloud is approaching fast and there's nowhere to run. Iskandar spits on the ground and adjusts his grip on the pike, planting its lower end firmly into the earth at his feet.]

The only bodies left here will belong to those beasts.

Lost in the bowels of the Earth (Underground, tainted magic)

[Iskandar lost too much blood. His magic is...unstable at best, actively hostile to him at worst. It is fire in his lungs, dull pain in his limbs, of the kind that doesn't go away. He's both feverish and shivering from cold. Too tired to walk, too stubborn to stop. If only he could...just for a moment...]

Wait! I don't think we're going in the right direction.

[They are. He is just delirious.]

Wildcard
[ooc: Any other ideas? Feel free to hit me on the OOC plotting post or plurk bitweaver]

for Maria;

[faithlikeaseed]

[It is a beautiful spring morning in Aefenglom and today, of all days, the weather's sheer perfection seems unutterably perverse.

Myr has been--maintaining, somehow, in the face of the chaos consuming the city. It helps that he's busy: With the leylines disrupted and magic growing more and more uncertain, every pair of willing hands--and more--is needed to keep the city functioning. When he has not been spending time with his own Bonded to cement their wavering connections, the Faun's found ample distraction in the sheer volume and variety of tasks that needed doing. Salvaging and distributing food from the beleaguered farms, keeping the lights on in DiplomaTea, carrying messages, catching frightened familiars, folding bandages...

It doesn't leave very much time for rest, though he has been trying to snatch a few hours of sleep whenever his erratic schedule catches up with him. Three hours before this disgustingly perfect dawn he'd collapsed on a park bench, stowed the bag of turnips he was carrying, and crashed into a deep and dreamless sleep; now, as the rising sun warms him up just enough to be a little uncomfortable, he wakes with a tremendous stretch, shakes his head, and--]

Maker's balls, not again!

[Discovers himself the possessor of a brand new Bond. Another brand new Bond.

He makes a wordless noise of dismay, pressing fingers to his chest and interrogating the new sense that's taken root there. There's no strong directional sense to it yet and what little emotion is leaking through is hardly a hint to whoever's on the other end. It is a Witch, so much he can tell, but beyond that...

He rummages beneath the bench for the turnips and his staff, slinging the former over his shoulder and leaning on the latter as he says a quick prayer for guidance. Hopefully, his new Bonded isn't any further than the Haven, since that feels the sanest place to search first.

Otherwise, it's going to be a very long and infuriating day.

But at least the weather's beautiful.]

( CLOSED ) Crowley, Momo, & Yuki

[benedicus]

( this is a mistake.

normally, aziraphale does not allow himself to get caught up into anything that might become too dangerous or otherwise meddling too deeply into some of the strangeness that seems to constantly be about. it isn't worth the risk and he has no interest in getting into a scuffle—these things do tend to end in a scuffle, after all. he is more than content to let those who are more adept handle such matters.

however, he had gotten mixed up in it anyway. aziraphale couldn't even begin to consider how it had happened or why he'd agreed to it, but it's far too late to dwell on that. he is already deep with the tunnels with a small party for the sake of investigating leylines.

which, if he thinks about it, is likely why he had agreed to any of this in the first place. the topic of conversation was most likely simply so fascinating that he found himself caught up with this whole mess before he could consider all the potential ramifications. oh, there must be countless!

the first; he has already begun to feel. his tie to crowley has started to feel a little weaker whenever there seems to be a measure of physical distance between them. not by a huge margin, but noticeable. then, the second happens quite suddenly.

there's a snap in his chest.

all at once, he feels a rush of emotions that aren't his and definitely aren't crowley's. )

I— I'm sorry, did something just happen?

( trying to ask in the politest way that he can imagine as he tries to push down the sudden rush of anxiety. )

Rude | FFVIIR | Dragon | OTA

[grandspark]

[Rude came down here to feel out the situation. Reno had shown interest in it because it was something thrilling and potentially dangerous to look into, something akin to their old job back home. An investigation worth exploring. Only the caverns made the harpy uncomfortable and soon he'd grown irritated to be underground for too long.

Enter the dragon. Rude was roped into exploring further than Reno felt comfortable doing on his own. Funnily enough, the large dragon felt rather at home in the deep underground tunnels and caverns and the feeling of coziness trickled through their Bond. It helped settle the harpy somewhat to have his partner down there, watching his back, and conveying a sense of ease and comfort through their shared link.

Rude didn't mind. It did turn out to be quite the job.]


I. Dangers in the Deep

[Clearing out leylines wasn't easy for a Monster, the dragon found out. He wasn't entirely certain what the Witches were doing to clear them out as it was. This type of magic wasn't anything like what he was even familiar with back home. But all that aside, he did find ways to help. Mostly.

He was particularly good at fending off infected creatures and putting them down. Anyone who argued he shouldn't be down here because he was a dragon was ignored in favor of simply doing what he wanted. He kept himself protected as much as possible by wearing extra thick gloves and using a knife for finishing blows instead of his usual means. (Don't ask.)

One of the times he did participate in trying to clear a leyline himself, didn't actually turn out so well. His attempt started with a huff of flame intended to burn the infection out of a small area. However, the fire grew wildly out of control--most likely a side effect of the overcharged magic properties down here--and got out of hand. Not only did the heat of the flames threaten to harm those around, but the dense smoke captured in the underground tunnels became quite deadly as well. What a bust. He worked frantically to try to stamp it out, of course, and any help was a huge relief. That, or, please get everyone out so no one gets hurt or killed from this huge mistake.]

II. Tangled Ties

[The most unexpected thing to happen while down below was also the most annoying. Thankfully, he was fairly good at keeping a pokerface. Even in his own mind, though these days that was harder what with the monster instincts flaring periodically keeping him on his metaphorical toes. He tried not to let his annoyance show much less grow into a truly agitated state for fear he snap at someone or go feral. Dragon emotions were so exhausting.

As the days wore on he felt his tie to Reno thin and almost snap a few times. It hurt--even knowing it wasn't their fault or that neither of them were trying to keep from the other this time--it still hurt to have it fade into nearly nothing a few times a day. It was worse the further they got from one another and Rude already hated being away from his partner as it was. But there was work to be done and he couldn't hold his partner's hand all the damn day long.

Then it happened all of a sudden. It was almost like drinking a potion and feeling the new bond flow inwards as the temporary link was formed between two people. Except there was no drink preceding this bond and Rude wasn't expecting to suddenly be sharing his mind with another person. Yet his gaze shifted almost unconsciously as he felt the tug. (At other times it was swift and almost painful, sudden and harsh like whiplash as it a former bond was broken only to be quickly replaced with a new one. That hurt a bit, too.)

He frowned slightly and narrowed his eyes, tried not to let the other feel his emotions too strongly. In particular, his rapid annoyance at the new, unwanted state. The first time it happened he spoke calmly, voice deep from effort to remain stoic:]

The hell is going on?

[The second and third times after, he let out a low growl and bared his fangs as his lip curled upwards. He quickly reigned it in afterwards though.]

---

[At night was the worst of it. Rude wasn't prone to dreams all that often, and especially wasn't that familiar with nightmares all that much. Despite his job, he slept quite soundly most of the time. He didn't let much bother him.

But something about this job, all this infection, all this over abundance of magic, and the twisted, burning ties between unexpected people. All of it gave rise to terrible nightmares that Rude couldn't control. Meditation before sleep didn't seem to help any at all. He began to suspect the infection was a large part of it when he started to see the same image in every dream towards the end. They began with something he was familiar with, usually things back home living as a Turk and working the job, and then grew more and more unsettling and dreadful even if not much happened--until the dark tree would show up. It was hideous and frightening to behold. Not much scared Rude but even he felt a pang of anxiety seeing it suddenly loom above and below with its reaching roots spread wide.

Waking from the dreams wasn't pleasant, of course, but worse now was how hard it was to not wake up any people bonded to him. It was impossible to control his initial emotions straight out of sleep--so while he could clamp down on them quickly, he couldn't entirely keep them from slipping out before he was fully awake.]

Ferran | Fae | OTA nightmare sharing!

[noblegarnet]

[Grateful as Ferran has been to hold onto the bonds he'd formally committed to despite the way they've been twisted by... whatever this is, he's experienced the unpleasant linking of his soul to those he hadn't chosen, and it's only added to the misery that has been his existence for the last week and a half. There's only so much optimmism he can see when he struggles to maintain his glamors, he feels shaky and numb half the time, and one of his bonded has left for the Underground, impossible to reach.

However, he doesn't expect one of those unexpected bonds to happen while he's sleeping—but ultimately, the Cwyld does what it will, despite any ideas he might have of its workings...]

A. feral

[Despite the light of the moons above, the city is extremely dark—making the shifting, glittering wings of the figure in the middle of the path all the more noticeable. They don't hold the same appearance for more than a few seconds at a time, glimpses of a Fae's sharper monstrous form only briefly visible between other humanoid glamors of all kind, be they human or monster.

Even through the shifting, mothlike wings remain for each one, as does their posture—knelt down, slumped over, hands over their face.

At the appearance of anyone else inside the dream, several voices speak out as one:]

Don't look at me.

B. fire

[Another night, the reason it's difficult to see is due to the raging flames that threaten to encroach closer, and although they haven't yet reached either of those who stand in the dream, they seem to approach out of the periphery no matter where one looks—but still, they don't reach the dream's unexpected guest.

Ferran—in human form, his right arm stained red from the shoulder down—stares into them. It's impossible to tell what might have once fueled the fire, aside from its size suggesting a building. He seems to be leaning closer, as if to take a step into them...]

Wildcard.

[OOC: Write your own nightmare, or hit me up via PM or at lumieresdedragon to plot!]

Mettaton | Undertale | Puca (OTA)

[glitzandglamour]

Danger in the Deep (Underground)

I. Tangled Ties
[Perhaps your character's on their own, their Bonded either present-but-elsewhere, or with none to speak of. Down in the caverns Underground it wouldn't be terribly wise to be without one's Bonded, but really. Who's counting and who's keeping track?

But magic's distorted deep in the caves, following the webbing of inky Cwyld in the walls themselves, and even that "magical signature" the Coven uses to tie souls together feels as though it reaches for something deeper in the caverns... until it all comes to a head. Suddenly, two souls snap together, suddenly and fiercely Bonded—and fierce is a good word to describe the sort of heat on Mettaton's end of the Bond.

Not far from where your character stands, deeper into the caverns where Cwyld thickens like rot in the air, comes a connection. It feels like thrill, fatalistic and daring, but with an uneasily cluttered, distracted headspace, lured and corrupted by the Cwyld... almost as if whoever's at the other end of this shiny new Bond has a deathwish and doesn't realize it

But it's with good timing that someone's showed up. A voice echoes like a melody against the cavernous, claustrophobic walls. ...If a melody could also carry the quality of vicious spite, that is. Then Mettaton's the wicked siren of dreams.]

Tampering with my things, right under my nose. Oooh, the audacity of that man. [Something clatters against one of the walls, something made of metal and wood and roughly watch-sized. A shock of malice floods his new Bond.] Well. This is spectacularly useless now. A full-color broadcast was too much to wish for. Can't be sexy without reception! Great! I guess I'll just have to wait!! For help!!

[For some reason, this voice does not move. His thoughts and feelings are so loud that Mettaton doesn't even notice he has a new Bondmate. Proceed with caution.]

Reaching Tendrils (Aefenglom)

II. Twisted Bonds
[The Underground's strangeness practices no discretion, mismatching ties of souls, whether they know each other or not. No matter the time of day or night, the very air feels charged and unstable quite suddenly as Mettaton goes about his business in the city... though he can't help but stop, ears perked up as he gazes about.

For he feels someone... new, attached to him quite solidly and in a way he identifies readily as a Bond. Where he formerly only had Emet-Selch tethered to his soul, he suddenly has someone else latched to him in a way that felt deeply personal. Unease, curiosity and excitement—the cocktail of emotions Mettaton conveys grows intense, and it grows ever more explosive the more time goes on.

(And for his new Bondmate to file through, as reference: there's a vastness of time in that head of their new Bonded, assuming a hundred measly years is a lot to them. This mysterious person has been alive for at least a hundred years, definitely more... but their head is filled with dark impressions of caverns, as though they themselves are a denizen of the Underground. Crystal blues, dangerous red, softened by an eye for pink, there are plenty of flashes in memory of TV screens, of stage lights, and rarely the impression of staring directly at the sun—this person records memory in color and feeling, vivid and arresting, and they must love their light. Who is this?)

It doesn't take but minutes for Mettaton to go on a hunt for his new Bonded, and proximity of the Bond closes as he tries to figure out where he's headed. Where will he find his new Bonded, if he's following the pull of their Bond?]

0. Other [[ooc: Feel free to drop a comment on the Bond finder if you want to arrange anything in particular but otherwise, I'll roll with any new Bonds! OTA for real, HIT ME, invade Mettaton's head just like he'll invade anyone else's... How lucky, to be Bonded With A Robotic Star... ☆ And feel free to pick any prompt you'd like in addition to the ones I've written, as he'll be both Underground and in Aefenglom.]]