moustre: (Default)
moustre ([personal profile] moustre) wrote in [community profile] middaeg2019-10-12 01:50 pm

☆ Event: Fright Night

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.

usurpers: (Default)

wildcard!!!!

[personal profile] usurpers 2019-10-15 03:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[ eren’s been followed by a variety of beasts at this point. some for territory invasion, others because rage was the only thing on their mind enough to want to tear at anything that moved— and then you have the monsters that are still just a little clear headed to know a dragon where they see one, avoiding his space and keeping most of the peace where he roamed.

fright night was where eren walks around more. too many people getting caught in crossfires and entanglements, too many accidents and regrets when the moons are gone. he’ll help who he can, and has aided a handful on his way to the riverside.

there is just a huge ass bear-goat stalking him from afar, he knows because he smells it, tastes it with each tongue flick (can’t say it wasn’t a completely foreign smell— he’s felt it somewhere before, and it hasn’t been too long). the pet dragon, dawning plenty more scales than his usual form takes continues to walk on his two digitigrade legs with the balance and ease of a veteran monster. you could say he’s taking the presence rather calmly,

eren would say he’s leading him on. ]
hoboagogo: (Looking for the feeling)

lets GO

[personal profile] hoboagogo 2019-10-19 11:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[He's never been a stealthy person.

Even before, back home- while he was entirely capable of staying out of sight or remaining unnoticed, he wasn't exactly sneaky. Creeping up silently wasn't exactly in his wheelhouse. So of course now, the best that he'd become in the shimmering mist blanketing all of Aefenglom, of course that wouldn't be the case either.

But at least now, he doesn't even care.

The creature smells like another predator- something confident and unafraid, a threat to the territory. So of course he's ambling along behind him, keeping a steady pace of growing closer to the reptilian man. The large paw pads are quiet enough, though he doesn't seem bothered by the occasional rattle of a loose stone, or the scraping noise of large claws brushing the streets as he starts moving quicker, building up speed into something more like a run.

And, when he gets close enough? Rumbling deeply as he rears up on back legs and tries to headbutt into the poor chill dragon just trying to go home or whatever Eren is doing.]
Edited 2019-10-19 23:45 (UTC)
usurpers: (Default)

SHOVES UP SLEEVES

[personal profile] usurpers 2019-10-22 01:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ if zachary’s head butting was a reminder to go by, eren would be fleeing from this. last time he tried butting heads with a ram (or part ram), he got knocked out. severely. counting, his horns were still growing, and the rest of his body was young, still undergoing change different from monster extensions.

but here he is now, months and year(s??) after that where he may be able to stand a chance. when the bear-goat stands, eren leans back to do the same, throwing his head down and exposing his granite horns into impact. it’s thick, the hit comes with the crackling of keratin scraping against each other, and he makes an effort of tangling the curve of his into the other monster’s. he doesn’t want them to separate so quickly. ]


This isn’t your space, is it? [ the dragon goads him purposefully. try harder than that, he conveys through a brilliant shine of scales burning with color and body language that may say: i’m about to destroy this man’s career and his territory. ]
hoboagogo: (Must be some other way out)

[personal profile] hoboagogo 2019-10-22 05:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[Just as desired, their horns lock up, all hard points scraping and tines tangling, leaving their foreheads only centimeters apart and neither able to pull back from it. Shinjiro's breath is a sort of rasping huff as he twists his head and neck and shoulders, as though to either break free or use his weight to drag the other beast down.

It's questionably effective when Eren is all tall muscular limbs and scales himself.

But the threat of such a brilliant display isn't lost on him, despite all suggestions that words are meaningless in the air. The tone carries, the cocky sort of confidence that speaks of someone unwilling to back down, of seeing this conflict through. Again, he thrashes at the locking of their horns, a large paw coming up to swipe at anything he can reach with another enraged noise.

Everything is simple and primal to him right now: With the combination of this ferality, the full moon, the rutting season, everything is about territory and dominance and food supply, assuring all of those and destroying anything that may threaten it.]
usurpers: (Default)

[personal profile] usurpers 2019-10-24 06:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[ a dragon's strength was no laughing matter, and eren manages— he balances every throw of weight with his own, digging his toes into the earth and hurling forward against the little space between them that they'd possibly not fill with their horns in the way. it wasn't any different from clinching. eren holds his arm against his face to protect himself against the powerful thud of a paw, biding the impact and taking the dangerous raking of claws over his limbs as a sign that now might be a very good time to make an effort into undoing their tangle.

he's bringing out the outrage. that's just what he wants for big ol' pooh. ]


You're just going to let me waltz around here? [ words may not be clear, but meaning is as much as the last taunt, and displays still run high on repeat. in a snap, eren manages to pull back and free himself, snapping his tail sideways to incite the bear more than truly hurt him. eren can't shake off the scent that seems familiar, so he won't do anything unnecessary.

with a few steps back, he just wants shinjiro to bolt for him. ]