[EVENT | FOURTH WALL] THE DREAMING'S FLATULENCE | APRIL 15-30

[ironwood]

Characters: ALL and plus ones. (Yes, fourth-wall characters, that means you.)
Date: April 15-30 2016 (2017 in-game)
Location: Mod-posted comment starters are for the immediate aftermath of the odd explosion which starts the event, but this log can also be used for anywhere in the setting anytime between April 15-30.
Situation: The College went BOOM. Weird people began appearing randomly in the city. After that, other buildings went BOOM even though nothing actually exploded besides the College. After that, scattered buildings developed spontaneous structural damage overnight. Could these events be related? You be the judge.
Warnings/Rating: Add warnings in subject headers as needed.

The morning of April 15th dawns cold, but clear. There isn't a cloud in the sky, the sun's barely risen, and in general the kedan are going about their daily lives - opening shops, heading to work, leading kirin through the city streets. In particular, there's a small but steady stream of people moving in and out of the College.

Then, without warning, a section of the College implodes.

During the following few days, an influx of strange Foreigners appear, seemingly dropped randomly by the Dreaming throughout Keeliai. Someone might end up in a canal, or on a rooftop. Someone else might find themselves flying through the air to land heavily in a disused alley. Someone might wake up in the corner of a kirin stable. A few might even land in Hatal on the mainland, and feel a curious draw leading them back towards the turtle. They arrive in the same unexpected manner as normal Foreigners; the only differences are the sheer amount of people arriving at once, and that none of the newcomers seem to possess any soul gems.

Also during the next few days, kedan and Foreigner alike might be startled by an exact replica of that thunderous boom from the College explosion echoing around Keeliai. This only occurs for about a week, but it occurs regularly, and the source of these strange echoes is impossible to trace.

Once the explosion echoes stop, investigators might notice that specific and exact sections of structural damage from the College appear on other buildings in Keeliai without any obvious cause. These cases of spontaneous long-term damage continue all the way through until April 30th.

Apart from those disruptions, life on the turtle is generally normal for the next two weeks - or as normal as it's possible for life to be when one lives on the back of a turtle where the most powerful gang makes the rules. No one can say for sure exactly when the strange Foreigners vanish again. Some will swear they all vanished at once; others will be equally sure they disappeared one by one over several days. One thing's for sure, however -- by the time April 30th draws to a close, not one of the strange Foreigners is left in Keeliai.

---

LINKS
The College | The Echoes | The Structural Damage | OOC Information post | Fourth-Wall Character Check-In

OOC
The top-level comments are for the explosion and its aftermath, but fourth-wall characters should feel free to use the rest of the post for anything within the setting! Just remember to label the top-level comment for location and date. You can also add more fourth-wall characters throughout the event at the character check-in, linked above. Please direct any questions to the OOC post.

Fourth-wall characters are also free to tag into player-posted logs and console/radio posts dated between April 15th and 30th! A quick reminder that fourth-wall characters will not have soul jewelry, and will not be able to create their own network posts or logs.

Comments

[backwordscompatible]

Zatanna had to bite back a smile at the question. The guy even said he was new, so how could he be expected to know? Still...the coincidence was rather amusing.

"Most people stop by the Welcome Center. But since I just so happen to run said Welcome Center, I guess you can just ask me whatever you need to right here."

[shopworn]

Oh, that was fortuitous. Ghastly smiled at the young woman, polite. It was a fun novelty, too, how no one here had given his scars more than a passing glance yet. "Excellent," he said, more or less cheerfully. "How did I get here, and has this city always been like this?"

He gestures, vaguely, realizes that 'like this' is actually rather a broad category, and elaborates. "No one seems very concerned by the fact I may be from another world entirely. Most places, that would be a little more important."

[backwordscompatible]

"Most places aren't kind of used to it," she began, with a casual shrug. Speaking of nonchalant attitudes. "It's a...spell. Sort of. Those of us who've been here for a few years were originally summoned by the former Emperor. After she died, though, people still kept coming and going. So it's either still ongoing, or else somebody new is keeping up the tradition. And to answer your second question...depends on what you mean by this."

Because there were any number of answers, ranging from 'yes' to 'no'.

[shopworn]

Ghastly sighed, not at all surprised that uncontrolled magic was responsible. Of course it had to be. Mortal science hadn't approached crossing dimensions yet. And it couldn't be a spell that was working properly, either.

"So nonchalant, mostly," he answered, a little sheepish. "Especially about magic. It's just a change, from home. Is anyone trying to find out why people keep appearing? That seems... important. Not that I'm in a hurry, but it's the principle."

He could grasp the basics of the idea pretty quickly -- having dealt with dimensional shunting before was a bonus.

In a moment, he offered a hand to shake. "Ghastly Bespoke."

[backwordscompatible]

She accepted the hand without question. "Zatanna Zatara."

His reaction to her initial answer was certainly telling. Did he come from a world where magic was rare, or kept secret? She and her father had always been pretty open about their abilities, yes, but there had also been reasons why Giovanni sought to keep his only daughter's existence out of the spotlight while she was growing up. So, in a way, she grew up knowing both what it was like to have to hide and not having to hide...even before her arrival in Keelai.

"That...gets a little more complicated." And long. Given the original answer spanned back several years. "See, once upon a time, we were more or less brought here to fight off a specific threat. Some bid baddy that the rest of us took care of a bit over a year ago. Only, no, we hadn't really been told at the time, and not everybody showed up all at once. When the final battle went down, we were all given the chance to go back home, or stay and see things through. Most of us chose the first option, but there were some of us who wanted to stay a little while longer for...different reasons."

(Admittedly, hers were just as personal as they were about concern for the local population post-battle.)

"But, see, now there's some new stuff going around. And people keep showing up. So I guess you can say that Malicant wasn't the only thing threatening this world, or the only thing that our help is needed with. We're...still kind of working out all the new details, to be honest."

[shopworn]

He could tell he wasn't going to be getting any strange looks about his name here, either. Interesting place.

"So people were more or less conscripted," he summed up. "But you stayed anyway." Found something in the world and city to cling to, or -- like him -- didn't have anything to go back to.

"How bad is the new stuff?" was the next priority. "Apocalypse levels of bad, or something a bit more manageable?" This place certainly didn't look like it was about to descend into madness, but stranger things had happened than chaos out of nothing. "And there's no way for people to go home on purpose now."

Awkward. Ghastly rubbed a hand back over his head, over his scars. It looked like an absent gesture, something long faded into habit. "...It's nice to meet you, anyway."

[backwordscompatible]

For Zatanna, it was all of the above and then some. She had something she'd been running away from, but also something worth staying for. The latter was...gone, for the most part, now. Though she'd since been able to reunite with a few other friends. But it was also the fact that Keelai, after five years, had become just as much her home as that little Harbor in Rhode Island she'd visited for those precious few months before. A home she had promised to help protect, and a promise she intended to keep. To the best of her ability.

"Definitely not Apocalypse levels of bad." For what that small comfort was worth. "But...yeah, no, sorry. I only ever knew about the one-time offer since I've been here. Before and since, it's always been up to random chance.

"But, yeah, it's nice to meet you too. Sorry I don't have the answers you're probably looking for."

[shopworn]

Well, if it's not apocalyptic, he can manage. Honestly, even if it was apocalyptic, some aversion would probably be possible, though Ghastly would prefer not to deal with that alone. Fortunately, it seems there are all manner of capable people here.

"It's all right," he said, with a smile and a little shrug. "You have some, which is more than I had before. In this case, I'll settle for being a little bit less confused. Thank you."

The question was what next, then, if her Welcome Center wouldn't necessarily have the answers to his other questions; but wandering was not the worst strategy in the world. Just one of the worst.

[backwordscompatible]

"You're welcome."

All things considered, he was taking it well. She did like it when they took the news well. Having to deal with the vehement denier or spending a half hour of conversation convincing someone that this wasn't some elaborate prank, and no, nobody's out to get you (that isn't out to get every other Foreigner too) got old after a while.

"Did you have any other questions? Food? Housing details? Any familiar faces you might be looking for?"

You know, the usual.

[shopworn]

"I think I can manage," he said, still smiling in the same gentle sort of way. "If you have a map, I wouldn't say no, though. Or directions to a place I can get a map. Or--"

What are the odds? Ghastly hesitated a moment over his next question, but so far this city had been enormously on board with strange things. There shouldn't be any harm in asking. "I don't suppose there's a living skeleton here?" he wondered. If anyone stood out in a crowd, it was Skulduggery. "One who's very attached to his hat?"

[backwordscompatible]

As a matter of fact...

"Pam reappa."

She held up one hand, speaking two (backwards) words. A cloud of smoke appeared, swirling around her outstretched arm until it collected into a small ball of puff in her palm. When the smoke cleared, a folded piece of paper was sudden in her hands. Paper she held out to him.

"Here. The basic layout. It might not be up to date on eateries--I think a couple new ones sprung up recently in Water, but don't hold me to that--but it'll give you a rough idea of what's in each Sector. Not to mention, directions to the main Hotel a lot of people stay at. Foreigner and locals alike, if I recall correctly."

[shopworn]

Oh, that was useful. Ghastly took the map from her, turning it over in his hands. Solidly conjured. He was impressed.

"Thank you." He had it unfolded within a moment or two, and looked back up to thank Zatanna. "This is exactly what I needed." It had directions to the central hotel, as she'd promised, and a much better layout of the city than he'd had a minute ago. "I think I'll survive the eatery confusion. Probably."

That had the definite sound of a joke.

[backwordscompatible]

She did head up the Welcome Center for a reason.

"Glad to hear it." He sounded as if he were making a joke, so she smiled in response. "And good luck with the survival. Once you get past the first week, it usually gets easier. Probably."

[shopworn]

"How comforting," he said cheerfully in return. "If I make it that far, I'll let you know."

He folded the map again, pocketed it, and nodded to her. "Good luck with everything else," Ghastly said, in lieu of an actual farewell, and smiled before turning to go.