EVENT | ALL HALLOWED

[cherrywood]

Characters: Everyone!
Date: Oct 27th - Nov 2nd
Location: The City of Keeliai
Situation: The kedan have decided to participate in an Earth tradition: Hallowe'en! But there are other mysterious things afoot this holiday and when people start disappearing they'll have to find a way to reverse the effect... though all of their selves might not make it back.
Warnings/Rating: Please indicate content warnings in subject headers as applicable.

As the weather turns crisper, the nights and mornings carry with them a hint of chill promising cooler days to come, the month starts drawing to a close. This is a pleasant time, soon to be the season of harvest even on such a nomad as Tu Vishan. Yet the relations with the kedan have been good lately and even the Emperor's latest warning has not dampened the resilience of her people (both willing citizens and not) and so today marks a new tradition to Keeliai and it starts with receiving a simple, handwritten invitation.

"Come and celebrate the Keeliai of ages past..."

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OOC: See the OOC plotting post for event details and this post for assorted subheaders outlining various parts of the plot. Feel free to start your own thread header if none suit, or make your own logs for various threadings... this is just for a central post for the event. Any questions can be directed HERE. Thank you!

NOTE: NPC tagging will be mostly in the Palace Rewards and Touch of Memory threads unless specifically requested elsewhere! Normal rules for players writing NPC interactions remains the same as always.

MID PLOT UPDATE!
Through the course of investigations will be discovered that every Foreigner who went trick or treating has acquired themselves at least one pot of what appears to be iridescent paint, sometimes more than one. Experimenting with these pots (because lbr who doesn't want a few randomly shimmery possessions) oddly enough lets ghosted characters interact with them completely solidly. Which, if you've inadvertently been ignoring someone, might mean you get your new shiny lamp thrown at your head.

Now if people get the smart idea to the paint the paint, that would let ghosted characters get hold of this stuff themselves...

TL;DR - Ghosted characters can paint themselves back into phase. Eating the stuff is also acceptable.

I. GIVE A LITTLE, GET A LITTLE!
Trick or Treating (All Sectors) | Palace Rewards

II. SHADOWS AND SHADES
Tangible: Kedan Museum | Disappearances | Investigations
Ghosted: Sense of Loss | Touch of Memory | Shift of Perception | Poltergeisting

Comments

[lineality]

You look a little young to be a soldier.

[More surprised than dismissive, considering the teenagers she knows. But then--they're exceptions. The Avatar always is.]

[strategisch]

I've heard that a lot, since coming here. [Armin shakes his head, unbothered.] It's very normal in my world.

[lineality]

It isn't in mine, I can tell you that. War's been going on for a while, I'm guessing.

[It's hard to think of any other reason why they'd be sending kids to fight, and the logical thing to do is settle for the simplest explanation.]

[strategisch]

...You could say that.

[100 years is probably a long time.]

[lineality]

[She glances at him, curious despite herself.]

And the other guys? Are they sending kids into combat, too?

[strategisch]

[He shakes his head again.]

We don't fight other humans, we fight monsters. Titans.

[lineality]

[And that doesn't sound ominous at all.]

I doubt we have those where I'm from. What are they, some kind of dark spirit?

[strategisch]

[Armin takes a calming breath before launching into what I like to call the Titan Preamble, which he has slowly been perfecting since coming here.]

Titans are humanoid creatures that be anywhere from 3 to 15 meters tall-- they're insentient monsters that singlemindedly pursue us to kill and devour. They don't feel pain, they never sleep, they truly don't need to eat at all, they don't have digestive organs... I wouldn't even say they hunt for pleasure or sport. It's all that they do. It's the point of their existence.

[lineality]

[Not a spirit, then--a spirit sounds like it might be easier to fight. Whatever it is Armin's describing is still difficult to picture in her mind, and yet he says it so matter-of-factly.

It's one thing to know that other people's worlds are different from her own--city names, languages, even animals. This is something else entirely.]

They must have come from somewhere. You can't stop them at the source?

[strategisch]

[It's nice to talk to someone who doesn't reply with complete shock, or useless apologies. It's always strange to hear, and even stranger to respond to. Lin's logical conclusion sits with him far better.]

That would be our ultimate goal, and my greatest wish. But as far as we know there are millions of Titans beyond the walls, and if there is a source, we have no idea where to start looking. It would take far more manpower than we currently have to start such a blind expedition.

[lineality]

Beyond the walls. [A sharp glance.] There's no means of communicating with neighboring cities? Something that might escape the Titans--I don't know. Messenger rooster pigeons?

[Even so, millions is a daunting number. Even a concerted effort with another city would be out of the question.]

[strategisch]

...There are no neighboring cities. We're all that's left of humanity.

[lineality]

...what?

[She'd think he was leading him on, but he sounds deadly serious.

On second thought, she's not sure what she should have expected, considering the 'millions of Titans' comment--but it's an unpleasant shock all the same, and it's a moment before she recovers.]

How many of you are there?

[strategisch]

Before Wall Maria was taken, there were nearly one million of us. After that, we lost a quarter of our population.

...And if we don't figure out what's behind the Titans within Wall Rose, we'll be sure to lose more.

[lineality]

Titans? In your walls? [It's more likely than you think.]

Sounds like a design flaw someone didn't account for.

[strategisch]

[A bitter look crosses his face.]

There are people who know why. Higher-ups. But even the fear of death won't compel them.

[That's why they needed Historia Renz. He couldn't stand being here, and not knowing.]

[lineality]

A conspiracy. [A huff.] Great. You'd think someone involved in something that's wiped out the better part of the world would want to make amends.

Maybe there are records? Bureaucrats always leave a paper trail.

[strategisch]

[Armin mumbles something under his breath, like "a bunch of fools," but shakes his head.]

We were going to recover a person that we could question, and may actually give us some answers. But then I came here...

[And I've been hanging on a cliff for weeks :|]

[lineality]

[A wry twist of her lips.]

Guess that would've been too easy. Hope it works out for you. [But the words ring hollow, given everything he's told her. Suddenly their own little war in Republic City seems oddly small, in comparison.]

[strategisch]

It's never easy.

[His derision is palpable.]

[lineality]

[A faint snort. They're nearing the city center now: still no indication that anyone around them has taken notice of them, and no sign of anyone who's clearly a foreigner, either.]

On the bright side, if what everyone's saying is true and we don't manage to stop whatever unspeakable evil we've been brought here to fight, you won't have to worry about that breakthrough at all.

[strategisch]

[An unmistakeable cold feeling runs up his spine, and his hands tingle. He takes a deep breath as he opens and closes them slowly.]

...I'd rather die in the line of duty. I'd want it to mean something.

[lineality]

[And isn't that chilling, hearing those words from a kid. Despite everything he's already told her, Lin looks troubled for a moment.]

I think we all do.

[Not that worrying about it will accomplish much. She turns to him then, gesturing to the plaza they're currently walking (floating?) through, her voice a little brisker.]

But neither of us are getting the chance to do anything of the sort unless we figure out what's going on here. What did you do this morning? Anything outside of your usual routine?

[strategisch]

[He's able to change his mentality quickly.]

Mmn, no. Not that I can think of. This happened all of a sudden; I was just taking some Kirin out to pasture, and then...

[He holds an arm out, and a Kedan passes right through it.]

Yes, that.

[lineality]

You work with the kirin? [It's different enough from her line of work that it probably isn't related.] Interesting choice of occupation. Must be a nice change of pace.

What about yesterday? Go anywhere special?