☆ Event: Fright Night

[moustre]

Event Log: October, Fright Night

I. The Mist It starts in the middle of the night. As the bells chime for 3 am, a slow fog creeps across the city from all four cardinal directions, swirling low to the ground, shining purplish in the light of the twin moons. It goes without notice for a while, an oddity, easily brushed off as too much rain and the changing temperatures turning it to mist over the cobblestones. The first ones to get caught up in it are the night workers, the drunks leaving the bars, the sailors returning to their ships, anyone out on the streets when it begins. In most cases, the effects are not instantaneous - it takes a little time to sink in before… a. The Transformations Even if you don’t find yourself out on the streets in the middle of the night, the mist creeps its way into buildings through cracks and openings, until exposure is almost guaranteed for everyone in Aefenglom, and even some just outside the Bright Wall in the Outer City. Though a lucky few, Mirrorbound and citizens alike, will find themselves wholly unaffected by the substance and will retain their physical forms and their own right minds, many more find themselves bent to its whims, changing in ways that could never have been predicted. There is little rhyme or reason to what changes occur or how - some simply wake with new parts, uncomfortable, while others run from their homes, panicking as wings tear painfully out of their backs or claws burst forth from their hands. The mist does not discriminate. Humans and Witches find themselves gaining the parts of Monsters, or even creatures that live outside the Wall. Monsters gain parts that don’t match up to their species - Arachne with wings or gills, Turnskin with antlers and Merrow tails, Puca with the teeth and claws of predators or the horns of unicorns or the scales of lizards, such strange sights become more and more common as morning approaches slowly. Mirrorbound may find that they can even gain the features and mannerisms of creatures from their home worlds. It all seems to happen wholly at random. These parts may not even last; plenty of citizens lose their new additions after just hours, only to gain new ones in the meanwhile. In the dark, wee hours of the morning, the city erupts into chaos. b. Widespread Chaos There’s no chance of peace tonight. Some may be lucky enough to escape the mists or its effects somehow, but the vast majority of the city hasn’t -- and it’s telling, from the sounds of people in the streets, that no one’s particularly happy about the turn of events. Many are in pain, many are blind with panic and upset. How could this happen? What’s going on? Many of the shouts attribute blame to the Coven allowing the practice of at-times experimental magics, while others turn it into anti-Monster sentiment, claiming the Monster population wants them all to suffer the way they do. Other tinfoil-hat-ists spread their conspiracy theories loudly, laying the blame squarely on Dorchacht - retribution for the Monsters the Mirrorbound stole from their city. This is an attack, they shout! The actual truth remains to be seen, however. There are plenty who don’t care about the truth and pay little attention to the rumors. They’re opportunists at heart, and a city in chaos is good for lining pockets. Some less-affected and less-moral citizens take to the streets of the Shopping and Aristocratic districts, throwing rocks through windows, banging down doors, looting shops and the houses of the wealthy of whatever valuables they can carry with them. Even a gang of kids from one of the orphanages in the Harbor District, sporting their own mismatched new features, can be spotted roaming the city, looting stores and homes, stealing from people incapacitated in the streets. They can’t pass up an opportunity when they have so little to begin with. c. State of Emergency Parliament, in contact with the Coven, is quick to declare a state of emergency in Aefenglom. A magical announcement rings out all through the city, loud and impossible to miss. Those who can keep it together are called upon to help find some sort of order before things devolve too badly and more damage is done than can be fixed. People will get hurt if things continue like this, they could even be looking at casualties. Those who have learned healing magic are asked to report to makeshift first aid stations scattered around the city to help those dealing with more violent, bloody transformations. Anyone with prior law enforcement experience are tasked with helping contain and stop the looting and the muggings. More still are called to try and figure out some way to get rid of the mist, or reverse its effects. None of the assignments are mandatory, plenty are unable to assist as they deal with their own afflictions, but any help is greatly appreciated.

II. Damage Control The chaos of the first night dies down somewhat by noon the next day. The air of forgiveness and cleaning up for the new year that was present at the beginning of the month is gone as the violet mist still spreads, wreaking havoc with the citizens of Aefenglom. Human citizens take it worse than the Monster half of the city, but one of the side-effects hits the Monster community harder. It quickly becomes apparent that the effects of this never-before-seen magic are not only physical. Fights break out over anything from minor slights to things worth fighting about, blossoming from a few thrown punches to all-out brawls that spill into the streets. Anger and agitation increase in most affected citizens, and you can cut the tension in the air with a knife. Relief efforts have to be redirected. Some can keep it together just enough to go about their daily lives as best they can with their new ‘additions’, but others rapidly start to lose their minds in ferality, even those with strong Witch-Monster Bonds. Miss Nessie is quick to whip the Coven into action to help preserve the peace as much as possible. There isn’t enough room to contain so many feral citizens, but they try to make do. All available Mirrorbound, Witch and Monster, who are able and want to help contain the people of Aefenglom or each other are taught a simple knock-out spell, or given slips of paper enchanted with the same, to literally knock some sense into the ferals. It won’t hurt them in the long term, but it will give them a time-out and help pull their minds out of their pits of animal instinct. Plenty of citizens will be thankful for this. That doesn’t mean everyone is happy to see the Mirrorbound around town. They may notice that they get more scowls while they’re out and about, more whispers and dirty looks. They come from humans the most, but especially the wealthier people of the city, dealing with their own share of terrible transformations, who mutter under their breaths words like, “Knew they would bring trouble with them. Knew it right from the start.” Known Mirrorbound may find themselves being kicked out of higher class shops in the Shopping District, or even spit on in the streets. Poorer citizens, especially Monsters, see things differently, however: they’ve seen the refugees from Dorchacht, they know what was done for some of their kind. They’ll admit that the Mirrorbound have brought trouble with them, but a little trouble isn’t always a bad thing - sometimes you’ve got to shake things up and disturb the status quo. Though they’re dealing with bizarre changes and an increased risk of going feral, they have faith that the Mirrorbound will help solve this problem. Of course, this difference in opinion just means both sides argue louder and fight harder.

III. The Refugees For those who’d found themselves rehomed, mostly Monsters and what few Witches came with, this is not what they had expected from a “full moon”. They’d been warned that certain urges would be stronger, that magic could wax and wane like the moons themselves, but this? This rampant disorder, the odd turning present in so many citizens and Mirrorbound alike, the Coven and Parliament’s bid on attempting some sort of damage control--? Is this what they left Dorchacht for, from one far too controlling city to one that didn’t seem to have any control at all? They aren’t in chains, at least. They can choose their Bonds if they’d like one. But it’s put them on edge enough that some linger by the docks, both wanting to leave to someplace “safe” in their eyes and wishing to stay. The latter wins out in most cases, seeking to help the Mirrorbound as they were helped themselves, though they may be suffering from the mists themselves... oddly, they seem to be more aware of themselves in a way that the natives are not, likely learned behavior leftover from Dorchacht to keep themselves in check; the compulsion spell had only helped compulsion, after all, there’d been a genuine want to remain secure and safe in their minds even with the situation as it was. Unfortunately, there’s plenty of locals who see the refugees as part of the problem -- before the Mirrorbound, before Dorchacht, Aefenglom had been fine, and in continuing these thoughts, they’re not... the friendliest to outsiders. Some are more likely to retaliate violently with new-found additions to their physiology and skillset when the refugees attempt to help, with whispers, conspiracy theories, and nasty rumors all the while spreading at a rapid pace. As bad as Dorchacht had been, maybe they had a point about the strange, suggestive magic used across the city. Maybe it’s something Aefenglom should look into too, during the fuller moons, should this be the beginning of something worse as the new year rises at the end of the month. But hopefully -- and this is the hope of all -- it simply remains a one-off, freak happening at the end of the year, and they pray the new one fares better.

IV. The Aftermath Thanks to quite a bit of Mirrorbound assistance, the city is still largely in one piece by the end of the day after the full moons. The mist, an unstable alchemical compound, eventually breaks down into nothing after a day or so, and the effects all fade or reverse, leaving everyone in their normal bodies and feeling clear-headed as the moons start to wane again. There are issues of property damage, stolen goods, and political discord to deal with, but the hardest to handle is perhaps the guilt of those who went feral and attacked their friends and loved ones. Samuin preparations continue with an unusual gloom hung over the city as clean-up and reparations commence. While before, though, humans and Monsters could often be found on the bridge over the River Temese, making amends with one another, the activity almost entirely ceases, leaving the bridge empty most days from now until Samuin.

Welcome to October's event log! This event takes place ICly on the 12th, 13th, and 14th. The Questions thread can be found HERE! Please help us and other players out by putting the subject(s) of your questions in your header! Investigation briefs will be going out soon on the OOC Sign Ups thread to the teams who were chosen by RNG, so keep an eye out for that. And as always, while we do encourage you to use this log, you can feel free to thread things out on your own log or elsewhere.

Comments

[towards_okeanos]

Everything in this improvised first-aid station is, well, improvised. So are the sitting areas. Iskandar has just finished clearing one bench when he sees a young boy stumbling into the medical station gripping his jaw with a bloody hand.

"Hold it like that, kid! I'll be right there with you!"

Iskandar turns around and grabs a young-looking Witch in a bloody apron. He points to the boy and she just nods. The fact that he knows a couple of healing spells doesn't make a healer out of him. His strength, apart from the physical, lies in directing all those experts so their skills are best utilized.

"Hello there, young gentleman. I am Lyssa. Come closer, dear, and let us take a look," the Witch says with a smile.

Whatever is the source of this mist it hits indiscriminately. Witches, monsters, humans, children, elders. Few are immune. There seems to be no rule who gets affected and who does not.

But it's always worst with the young ones.

[towards_okeanos]

"Well this" he responds waving his hand in the air as if he thought maybe the claws would fall off or at least he would wake up. Usually, the weirdest stuff happened in the dreams. That is not a dream.
Then he recognizes her and smiles. It's a tired smile but a smile nonetheless.

"Hello, Asahi, haven't seen you in a while."

Quite a while it was. They met in the House of Mirrors and drifted apart when they left but Iskandar vividly remembers how puzzled she was he able to bring a horse with him.

[long_live_the_queen]

[>continue bullying skeleton?]

[...she supposes the screaming would get more annoying than batting the skull around like a ball of yarn would be funny.

So the hyena-thing stopped, still staring down at the talking skull. An ear turned towards the sound of the other bones creaking, but they weren't moving at her and Kaede was fairly certain looking at them would make things much more dissonantly weird.]

Don't think I can really pick your head up without sticking you in the eye.

and then my internet goes down as I was writing a reply to this......................

[fieryimpulse]

[Honestly though, it's cute. Terribly cute. Maybe Chandra shouldn't be touching someone's face like that, but her own instincts are more to seek out her own amusement. And that means picking at people, even nice people.

Chandra snorts a soft laugh .]

Don't apologize. It's cute. Cats are my favorite.

oh my god. Emerald is just a shitbag from Jersey.

[fieryimpulse]

[Chandra whirls, ready for a feral monster, because that's been her night so far. But...no, it's Emerald. Looking...uh...]

...That's quite a change.

[Listen, what do you say when your bondmate appears out of nowhere, looking like an emaciated goat.]

[fieryimpulse]

Absolutely. You just gimme a shout if there starts to be too much of a panic. I know a couple of spells that can soothe emotions. Not much, but it may help.

[She regards him with a quick, but still warm smile, her elven ears twitching.]

I'm Chandra, by the way.

[fieryimpulse]

Did you?

[Chandra stays close, head down like she's focusing on something. In truth, it's not that her thoughts are terribly different, they are just amped up by the addition of these new traits. She's not too sure what monster she's even supposed to be becoming since...elves...aren't really 'monsters' here.]

What happened? You...are a harpy, right?

[loudandproud]

( he stares. blinks a few times. caspar looks down at the ground, then back up to dantes. maybe he's right. it's still conflicting to him regardless--- a crime is a crime. taking advantage of anyone, regardless of the situation, is wrong. yes, there are inequities of all sorts, and that's the one thing caspar has been bothered by for the longest time.

and that's why he sighs and lowers his head. )

... fine. Still don't like it though.

( his tail low, caspar huffs through his nose and looks back toward the main street. )

You said you stopped some people. Did you kill them?

[firewalled]

Rich isn't sure what Michael appears to be bothered about, oblivious to the implications he's made.

"Sometimes they come with psychological ones too... you know, recently I kept wanting to collect things. So I'm not surprised you have to deal with something like that... even if it must be frustrating."

He sits down on the bed next to Michael with a smirk. "Do you want a hand with that? It'll probably stop feeling so overwhelming that way."

[bad_crowmance]

[ Elliot's not exactly wrong, but probably not for the reasons he'd think. That being said, he grins when Elliot takes his arm. ]

The Harbor District, huh? Well you've definitely got me interested.

[ What do you have planned, Elliot! He's curious. ]

Damage Control

[ishisstrength]

The ocean had special meaning to Justine. It always had. This was where Connor almost drowned her, where they became friends, where Paris had taught her to swim, where she'd been given hope and where she'd lost it again. It was almost fitting that she was once again standing on the beach, searching for one of the few people in this dark city who had given her hope.

She wasn't scared of Rich, it was impossible for her to be afraid of him and she knew him. Not just because of the Bond and their connection but because this was Rich.

'Rich... Richard.' Justine spoke softly through their connection, letting the sweet tones of her thoughts reach him as she stepped onto the beach. She was wearing a thin white nightgown that had been torn and the thick plush winter jacket that she'd made for the snow. Her dark hair curled around her shoulders but instead of skin there was gleaming purple and blue scales. Her eyes had changed too, her iris's becoming longer while flecks of silver and black glimmer in her dark hazel eyes.

'It's me. I've come to find you.'

She steps forward, her expression strained but soft. 'I've been so worried.'

[curruid_coinchenn]

Do you think anyone's happy about it?

[ Robbed of his overwhelming strength and other benefits of being a Servant only to be turned into a beast he's more used to killing. Losing control over himself, control that he prides himself on having. Seeking a Bond to fix the control problem, only for that to open up an entirely different can of worms. ]

You're not alone in that feeling.

[ishisstrength]

Justine was getting used to having a crowded house again and she found that she enjoyed it. It was awkward at times but she was pushing feelings away and focusing on the tiny piece of happiness that she'd been able to find here. It wasn't exactly how she'd imagined or what she had wanted but she felt as if things were settling into place. Things with SQUIP and Rich were fuzzy but it all felt right... somehow.

It was fine.

She heard Michael's voice from his room and lightly knocked before pushing open the door. She didn't exactly worry about Michael as he was the least awkward of all the boys in the house.

"Michael? Are you alright?"

[quickwhip]

[ Is this where they become friends or something? Hell if he knows, so used to always being on his own. So, he sighs after listening to what Berserker has to say and gives a lazy wave of his hand. ]

Fine. I see your point. Doesn't mean I'm gonna start being chipper about not being alone there.

[prayerwheel]

[ aaaaaaaaaa. how is this girl so cute. what the hell. ]

The sky? [ oh. huh. ] I hadn't thought of it like that.

[ it's definitely supposed to be water, but ]

Um...thank you.

I am 100% down for that

[curruid_coinchenn]

Ah...Rider. They're good at missing each other and Berserker still spent time at Ozymandias' home. Still, it's ridiculous they somehow haven't met before now. At the mention of Dorchacht, though, he looks a little bit uncomfortable. That's still a bit of a tender spot that weighed heavily on him. The cost of having emotions and caring is a heavy one.

"It was the least I could do for an ally."

Calling Waver (or anyone) a friend is still something that's difficult for him. Normal human emotions and normal human attachments and relationships are something he's adjusting to. It's such unfamiliar territory for him.

"He would have done the same, or at least what he could have, for me."

This is his way of saying "You're welcome": justifying his actions.

I

[ishisstrength]

"Jeremy? Are you alright?"

Justine pressed her palm to her head in an attempt to hush the flood of thoughts and screams that weren't her own. It wasn't stopping, nothing was quieting the storm but she had to try. She closed her eyes and blinked back the tears and the tension coiling in her stomach.

"Jeremy." She said his name again, more for her own sake then his.

"Come on. I was going to make... meatloaf for dinner." That was something she thought that everyone would like and it was easy to find the ingredients in a city with strange foods and spices. "Jeremy?"

Did he just quote Zelda?

Justine pinched her nose and tried again. "It's dangerous to go alone..."

I. The Mist (sometime before chaos ensues)

[ishisstrength]

[Dressed in white, Justine wanders aimlessly through the city in search for something that she can't grasp. Blue and purple scales gleam up the lovely curve of her neck while her once dark eyes shine with flecks of blue, purple and silver. Her pupils are tall and thin but wide, as she tries to take in the hazed lighting of the city streets.

Heat dances across her skin while soft words of madness whisper in her ear. Then there is another voice, cool and rich, one she instantly recognizes.]

SQUIP? Is it you?

[Justine exhales a sigh of relief as if she's found water in the middle of the dessert.]

I found you. I finally- [She closes the distance between them and presses her slender frame against his side, her arms wrapping around his waist.

Puzzle pieces lock into place as if she'd found the final piece to herself. The whispers from the mist haven't stopped but they don't matter anymore, all that matters is it... the SQUIP. She's with him and that means she's safe.]

[illequipped]

[He can't see a dang thing, but he does lift his face up from the ground indignantly, for what it's worth.]

I couldn't tell it was you!! And you didn't have to trip me!

[Guh!! He is... not blameless in this, but not totally at fault, he's certain of it! Take responsibility.]

Ugh, fine. If you promise not to skin me, I'll help you pick these things up. Is that enough?

[ishisstrength]

Monika...

[Her voice is soft and pleading with her friend to just... look at her. 'Please.' Justine doesn't want to be alone out here. The voices are too loud and the mist too thick for her to see. She just wants her friend. It's a new and entirely unfamiliar feeling but it's the truth.]

Please. Let me help.

We can hide away, together.

[Not forever, there are people Justine is worried about but for a little awhile... they can escape.]

[ishisstrength]

[Justine closes her eyes and lets Prompto lead them.

She focuses on the steady inhale and exhale of her breath, of the weight and strength of his arm as she holds herself against his side and the rhythmic cadence of their steps.]

That does sound funny. [She admits but her voice has lost its usual calm and playful edge.] I would like to see a drawing. I didn't know you drew. I like drawing. [It sounds silly but it's a nice topic to focus on.]

[clickclickbang]

[Silly, but harmless and easy to discuss.]

Eh, I'm not good at it. I had to take a few traditional art classes before I could sign up for the photography ones in school, that's all.

[loadme]

[The effects would take hold almost immediately, the paper activating as soon as it was placed on Monika. Her entire body went limp, practically lifeless as consciousness escaped her, and fast. Hers eyes rolled back into her head as she lost all strength and collapsed.

She continued to remain motionless once it was all over.

But at the very least, it was all over.]

[fiddlestick]

Hehe, you'll see~ ♪

[He'll start on their walk, heading towards the Harbor district. Luckily the street seems pretty quiet from the earlier chaos.]

So have you been settling in okay?

[activatingcombatmode]

[That only makes him raise an eyebrow and he pushes back against her, his other hand coming to grab around her waist right back. He's moving to make her take a step back.]

You think I'm gonna be afraid of a little heat?

[Longer fangs in his mouth gleam as he grins wolfishly at her.]