[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

[vloggings]

"I'm filming your dramatic entrance," she says, in a tone of voice that carries along the added, 'duh.' She presses pause on her recording and crosses her arms, looking him over.

"You would have scored higher, but you didn't announce yourself. Usually when a superhero arrives on the scene, they shout, 'Voilà, it's me, Darkcloak Redsword!' Or, whatever your name is. You should try it. That robotic voice has a real impact."

Somehow in her rambling it never occurs to her that maybe he's not a superhero after all. Maybe he's a villain.

Still, even the villains have cool names.

[no_light]

There was a distinct lack of screaming. Or begging. Or even shooting. He would have been perfectly fine with being shot at. At least it would have been predictable.

This, however...

He raised himself to his full height and switched off the blade, though he held on to his lightsaber just in case the girl's harmlessness turned out to be deceptive.

"I'm not here for your entertainment." Which begged the question why he was here. Or where here was. He looked around at his very tranquil surroundings, giving the canal in which he had almost taken a bath a disdainful glance. "You can start by telling me where I am." He took a step towards her, half tempted to just pluck what he needed from her mind. But for now he felt more curious than angry, or close enough to play along anyway.

[vloggings]

"I could," she says, unfazed by his looming closer, despite the fact that he's a good 70 cm taller than her. "But I don't know that either." What a poor example of a superhero, if he doesn't even know where he's come to rescue people.

"And I never said you were here for my entertainment. I was assuming you're here to fight the bad guy and return us all home, no?"

Otherwise, what use is he?

[no_light]

Fight the...?

Even wearing a mask, there could be no more hiding how utterly confused he was. Kylo might have seen a fair number of worlds and met many strange aliens, but this girl had to be one of the oddest people he had met.

"I'm not here to fight anyone!" he snapped. Well. His eyes flickered around and he sensed tentatively for dangers. "Not yet, anyway. I will fight the one who brought me here."

He took another step towards her. "But you speak the truth. You know no more than I do." For which he was almost relieved, as he had no desire to breach her mind. It could only be a frightening place.

[vloggings]

Her eyebrow raises even higher. All the judging. "For someone who's 'not here to fight anyone,'" (she accompanies that with finger quotes) "you certainly were quick to draw your weapon." And then, as if he needs a reminder, she pulls up the clip on her phone of him whipping out his laser sword to show him.

That done, she goes back through her phone to look at the various videos and photos she's taken since she arrived. "Of course I don't, didn't I just tell you?" But so long as they're both equally in the dark about where they are or why, she may as well act the hero and help him out. "I only arrived shortly before you did, and I've been walking around, investigating. Looking for somewhere where someone in charge might be. Haven't found much yet, though."

[no_light]

"Shove your recording device into my face again and I'll crush it," he growls, giving her a disgruntled look as he starts to walk away. But he's walking slowly enough that she can keep up, if she wishes to, which is really the best invitation he can manage to offer.

He's still not "fighting the bad guy", Kylo tells himself.

"I'm going to find my answers. I wager I have more effective methods to procure information than you do." Such as his lightsaber. Most people get very helpful with a lightsaber shoved in their face. "Don't get in my way."

[vloggings]

Right. Just going to slip her phone into her pocket as she hurries to catch up with him. Between his height, his deep robotic voice, and the laser sword, he is actually somewhat intimidating. But not intimidating enough to completely ignore, of course. Besides, two are better than one when you're both lost, right?

"Oh, sure, because I don't have a cool costume or a weapon, I can't find out anything useful." How rude. "I'll have you know I'm an accomplished journalist, back home. My blog, Ladyblog, is the leading source of information on Paris' superheroes. I'm this close to finding out Ladybug's true identity." She doesn't know if Darkcloak Redsword here knows Ladybug or Chat Noir, but she's still proud of her blog.

[no_light]

He doesn't really believe in the two is better than one way of thinking, but he's feeling very lost indeed, so yes, right now even a terrible tag-along is better than facing this by himself.

He gives her a short, sharp sideways glance. "I don't know who this Ladybug is, but if they are worth your time they will know how to stop you from discovering their identity."

After another moment, he puts away his lightsaber. The Force is his best weapon anyway. In his best voice of injured dignity, he added, "and this is not a costume."

[vloggings]

"You must not be from Paris." Obviously he's not, or Alya would have seen him around before. She's kept up on all the superhero happenings in the city. "Ladybug and Chat Noir are Paris' super team."

Deciding he's probably not the type who would appreciate a derisive laugh, she refrains from chuckling at his last comment. "If it's not a costume, what is it? People don't just go around wearing masks."

[no_light]

"They do where I am from," he responds, and oh, the wounded pride is now dripping from his voice. But he's not quite ready to lose himself to one of his infamous fits of rage. The entire conversation is so bizarre he finds himself almost entertained, even if he would still prefer screams of terror.

He goes for sullen silence for a moment before deciding that no, he really doesn't want her to keep believing it's a costume. This is important. "It's an uniform, of a sort. Has your world never heard of the First Order's Knights of Ren?" Then, after another moment, "or the Sith? Darth Vader? There is a long tradition of wearing masks on the Dark Side of the Force."

[vloggings]

She shakes her head, "No, I've never heard of—" Hang on. The... Dark Side? Does that mean... he's the bad guy after all? He can't be, right? Otherwise he would have tried to hurt her or attack her or something by now.

Nervous, she wraps her arms around herself and swallows. "You never told me your name." If his name is 'The' anything, he's definitely evil.

but they have cookies! how could the dark side be evil?!

[no_light]

And at last... some wariness. He finds himself almost a bit disappointed that she might grow scared now that he is adjusting to her not being frightened.

"No, I didn't tell you my name." Another side look. "Neither have you told me yours." At least not when he was actually paying attention to her babble. "I'm Kylo Ren." No 'the' to denominate evil, sorry, the Force doesn't work that way. "Master of the Knights of Ren. Who are all masked, without it being costumes." Kylo heaves an irritated sigh. He doesn't even know why he's bothering. Maybe insanity's catching.

[vloggings]

"I'm a civilian, my name's not important. But it's Alya. Alya Césaire."

Kylo Ren doesn't sound like a superhero name at all. Maybe he really is some kind of strange knight. He does have a sword to go along with the title, even if it is a laser sword.

As they walk through the Water Sector, they approach the border to the Central Sector. The canals cease, and the buildings get bigger and more official-looking. "This looks promising," she says. "Maybe we can find someone in charge here."

[no_light]

"Maybe," he agrees, looking around at the buildings in the hope that anything will strike him as familiar. No such luck, this could be on any random planet in the galaxy. It would be easy to just grab someone at random and interrogate, but also a great way to catch the attention of whoever has brought him here, and then promptly lost him. Or set him free for games. Or... It's easier not to think about it till he has more facts, really. Also unlikely to help, if they are all as dim-witted as his tag-along.

"Doesn't it bother you at all that you have been kidnapped and dragged to a strange planet?" he asks wryly. "One would think you would be the slightest bit upset."